Political meetings, "cluster machines", will they be banned?

• In a decision last May, the Constitutional Council ruled that the pass could not be required to access meetings or political activities, for the sake of preserving democratic life.

• If some politicians do not claim the health pass, others, including Anne Hidalgo, require it to access their public meeting.

  Valérie Pécresse, she took the lead, by canceling her meeting scheduled in Villepinte.

• Described this Monday as a "cluster machine" by Gilles Pialoux, head of the infectious and tropical diseases department at Tenon hospital, should electoral meetings be banned?

  20 Minutes

  takes stock.

With more than 40,000 cases of contamination on average per day, the health situation linked to the coronavirus epidemic has continued to worsen in recent weeks.

If the virus first threatens the end-of-year celebrations of the French, it also risks complicating the campaign for the presidential election of 2022.

A few months before the election, political meetings are multiplying, in a very tense health context, at the risk of increasing contamination.

Gilles Pialoux, head of the infectious and tropical diseases department at Tenon hospital, said Monday on Franceinfo that these electoral meetings were "a cluster machine", inviting politicians to set an example.

Is the health pass compulsory for political meetings?

What are the rules?

What did the candidates decide? 

takes stock.

Is the health pass required for political meetings?

In a decision rendered last May, the Constitutional Council excluded political, trade union and religious activities from the field of leisure activities for which it is necessary to have a health pass. A case law confirmed, on November 9, by the Wise Men in the report on the health vigilance bill: "The presentation of the health pass cannot be required for access to polling stations or to political meetings and activities" , they wrote, in order to guarantee the democratic aspect of the vote but also the holding of this type of rally.

The State cannot therefore impose the health pass for political meetings, at the risk of being illegal. On the other hand, the organizer of the event himself has every right to impose it: "Now, nothing prevents an organizer of a political meeting from requiring the health pass to access it", a indeed declared the spokesman of the government, Gabriel Attal, at the end of the Council of Ministers, on November 24th.

In a note sent to the heads of the parliamentary groups at the end of September, the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin, in charge of the elections, for his part called the political figures to the responsibility: "I wish to inform you that, as it stands current law, political meetings will continue to be able to take place without the health pass being required of the participants ", he wrote, inviting the organizers of meetings to the responsibility" in the establishment and respect of others measures to limit the spread of the virus ”.

What decisions did the candidates make?

For his first big meeting, this Sunday, at the Parc des Expositions de Villepinte, Eric Zemmour did not require the health pass to the some 13,000 supporters who came to cheer him on. Wearing a mask was compulsory. Same instructions from Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who held a meeting at La Défense the same day, with a mask, but without a health pass for his 4,500 supporters. “We respect the law and the legislation in force. As such, we do not have the right to request the health pass for a political event, they are protected, as for a confessional event, ”said Bastien Lachaud, LFI deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis and responsible for the organization of campaign events at Les

.

Faced with the increased risk of contamination, the Republican candidate, Valérie Pécresse, will not hold her meeting, in physics, scheduled for Saturday, December 11 in Villepinte. However, between 5,000 and 10,000 people were expected at Porte de Versailles. "There is no question of having a meeting without a health pass," said candidate LR, last Thursday at the microphone of BFM, adding: "I will never endanger the safety of the French because of the campaign. "A position confirmed by Christian Jacob, the boss of the party. However, the latter did not give details on the form that future meetings could take.

Finally, if the Socialist Party candidate, Anne Hidalgo, has maintained her meeting, scheduled for December 12 in Perpignan, her supporters will have to present the precious sesame and wear a mask.

"We will require the presentation of the health pass at the entrance," said Socialist Senator David Assouline to the

.

During his investiture meeting, on October 23 in Lille, the pass was already required.

On the side of environmentalists, the public meeting of Europe Ecology-The Greens scheduled for December 11 in Laon (Aisne) is maintained, but it will bring together only a few hundred people.

"We made the decision not to hold large gatherings because of the Covid-19", explained a relative of Yannick Jadot to the 

Towards meetings as supervised as a test concert?

Closed places, almost impossible social distancing, wearing of the relative mask, chanting, lack of ventilation… For Gilles Pialoux, these electoral meetings are a “cluster machine”. “The virus doesn't give a damn about the Constitution. We are told that it is not constitutional to ask for the health pass "at the entrance of a meeting," I understood. But that people can arrive by bus, unvaccinated! », Expressed indignation the head of the infectious and tropical diseases department of the Tenon hospital (Paris). The infectious disease specialist took as an example the meetings of Eric Zemmour and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, this weekend: “There are just a few images with masked people, but you can see, after half a year. hour, people have the mask under the chin (…) It amazed me ”, he regretted.

"We know that transmission increases a lot when we sing or shout without a mask in a closed environment," said Arnaud Fontanet, member of the scientific council and epidemiologist at the Institut Pasteur Arnaud Fontanet, to Le

.

“You have to set an example.

How can one be a candidate for the highest step of the political podium and not lead by example?

He asked himself.

Our file on the coronavirus

The department head recommended that political parties take inspiration from the Indochina test concert on May 29 at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris.

During the event, the participants present had to wear a mask, present their health pass and perform several antigenic tests, before and after the concert.

According to the study carried out, there was no "increased risk of infection" with the coronavirus.

For the infectious disease specialist, it is necessary "to hold electoral meetings with research" on the contamination of the virus "on a voluntary basis".

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• Health pass

• Anti-covid vaccine

• Presidential election 2022

• Video

• Cluster

• Covid 19

• epidemic

• Coronavirus

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