TonThis is the first day that the controversial health pass in France entered public places. Outside the main art gallery Musée Fabre in Montpellier, a security guard squinted at the visitor’s smartphone. “I can’t see your pass,” he said. The visitor tried to block it from the scorching Mediterranean sun: “I didn’t see anything. I can’t even see if my phone is unlocked.”
Starting from Wednesday, in France, anyone who wishes to enter a cultural or leisure facility that can accommodate more than 50 people must present a health pass or a proof of a negative PCR test within 48 hours. This includes cinemas, art galleries, libraries, museums, sports centers, and work-related activities. Cafes, restaurants and trains will implement these measures in early August.
These measures are part of Macron’s rekindling of France’s malaise vaccination campaign in the fourth wave of pandemic. French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal reported 18,000 cases in the 24 hours prior to July 20, describing the delta variant-driven surge as “stratosphere”; national weekly infection rate It jumped by 125% to 86 per 100,000 people, well above the national warning threshold of 50.
As holidaymakers flock to the coast, the southern area of Occitane is one of the most affected areas. The infection rate in Hérault, with Montpellier as its capital, has risen to 202.7 cases per 100,000 people, an increase of more than 200% on a weekly basis.
In the huge foyer of the city’s main library, Mediathèque Emile Zola, there was a long line—except for a complaining pensioner. “I had an injection,” the old man protested. “I’m afraid you need two,” he was told. He was furious and talked to himself.
Seham, a 26-year-old student, was also turned away because she did not have the necessary certification. She believes that these measures started in September. “It made my day a bit frustrated,” she said.
Charlie Pereniguez, a 36-year-old manager, sipping an espresso outside the glass door of the Diagonal Cinema, pointed out that the new health pass has led to a decline in national advance ticket sales. “It really makes us have to check everyone. We don’t buy a smartphone for each person, only for two or three months.”
70-year-old Marc Combes was sitting on the wall waiting for the MOCO Museum of Contemporary Art in Montpellier to open. He said: “People are already doing what they like to do, so we have to tighten the screws.” But he worried that they would be leading A step on the road to some form of “dictatorship.”
This kind of debate is taking place across the country, and some protesters wearing yellow Star of David badges marched against the health pass last weekend, causing huge controversy. Approximately 5,500 people took to the streets in Montpellier last weekend. This was one of more than 130 protests that gathered more than 110,000 people across the country.
Within a week of Macron’s speech on July 12, more than 3.7 million people had booked their first injection. Now only more than 45% of the population has been vaccinated.
However, on the eve of next year’s presidential election, Macron must appease the country’s entrenched anti-vaccination team. In recent days, two vaccination centers have been physically attacked.
The Health Pass has not yet touched the core of French culture: cafes and restaurants. Outside L’Odyssée, in a tavern near Montpellier Central Station, Azak Attila, the 41-year-old owner, said that checking all his customers would not work: “Even many vaccinated people say they are principled He refused to show his pass.” But if he fails to do so, he may face a fine of up to 45,000 euros.
“I think Macron wanted to scare people into getting vaccinated, but didn’t directly order them,” he said. “It’s a bit dictatorial-I knew this behavior when I lived in Turkey. But I never thought it would happen in France.”
