Health pass: the Senate rejects en bloc the text restored by the Assembly

The National Assembly must vote on Friday a final version of the text in accordance with the wishes of the government.

Senators from the Les Républicains group "will, no doubt in the next few hours, file an appeal with the Constitutional Council," Stéphane Le Rudulier (LR) has already announced.

Appeals are also provided by LR and left deputies.

The High Assembly voted Thursday evening the "preliminary question" presented by the rapporteur LR Philippe Bas, a procedural motion which results in the rejection of a text from the outset, without examining its provisions.

"The obstinacy with which the government has refused any dialogue with the Senate, the refusal to accept it opposed to its amendments (...) has left us without hope of being able to further develop the text", said justified the rapporteur.

"The Senate does not oppose that the instruments of the fight against the epidemic be prolonged", but asks "that it be under the control of the Parliament", he underlined.

Behind the "intransigence" of the government, "there is necessarily for us the suspicion that political intentions may have been present," Philippe Bas said, referring to the end of the presidential election.

"The president avoids a debate during the presidential campaign", added the socialist Jean-Yves Leconte.

A protester holds a sign against the health pass, September 11, 2021 in Paris Thomas SAMSON AFP / Archives

The LR, centrist, CRCE with a communist and ecologist majority groups gave their votes to the rejection motion.

The Socialists, although in disagreement with the bill, voted against the motion, to indicate their willingness to continue debating.

"You have to be able to convince," insisted Mr. Leconte.

At first reading, the Senate opposed the government head-on, limiting the extension of the braking measures against the Covid-19 epidemic to February 28, including the health pass.

The senators had also "territorialized" the use of the health pass according to the vaccination rate and the circulation of the virus according to the departments.

And they had removed a controversial provision allowing school principals to know the vaccination status of students.

So many major changes on which the National Assembly returned on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, despite the guerrillas led by the oppositions.

On the government bench in the Senate, the Minister responsible for Autonomy Brigitte Bourguignon repeated that the date of July 31 "is a relevant choice".

According to her, the bill will "protect the health of the French by limiting as much as possible the impact of the measures taken on their daily lives".

© 2021 AFP