Mon 09 August 2021:
On Monday, the French government began enforcing a Covid pass, championed by President Emmanuel Macron, in cafés, restaurants, and trains, a tightening of rules that the government hopes will increase vaccinations but has sparked weeks of enraged protests.
The pass, which has been required for the past three weeks to enter a cinema, attend a concert, or visit a museum, will be required for everyday activities in France, such as sipping coffee in a cafe or taking an intercity train.
Almost a quarter of a million people protested the extension of the pass across the country on Saturday, the largest turnout in four weekends, but Macron has shown little patience with protesters’ concerns about vaccination and alleged erosion of human liberties.
The health pass is generated in a QR code either by a full course of vaccinations, a recent negative virus test or a recovery from Covid-19. The government expects a one-week grace period for consumers and businesses to get used to the new rules.
As cafes opened for business on Monday morning, there were early signs of frustration in cafes who have had to survive long months of closure during pandemic lockdowns.
“They don’t have the health pass an there is nothing I can do,” said Mirela Mihalca, waiting on a table at cafe in central Paris, pointing to two customers who sat down but who she had refused to serve.
“Some understand it quickly, others not. It is going to be difficult, we are not the police!” she added.
The president, who is up for re-election next year, has used the popular young people’s social media platform TikTok to spread his message in recent days.
“Get vaccinated. Get vaccinated. Get vaccinated,” Macron said in the latest video Friday.
In remarks to the Paris Match weekly, Macron made no secret of his frustration with the protesters, who he described as “a few tens of thousands of citizens who have lost their senses to such an extent that they say they live in a dictatorship.” “I will not give into their radical violence,” he added.
The Le Monde daily noted Macron’s defiance, saying: “Just a few months before the presidential elections the president is not hesitating to be divisive”, while appearing to keep the support of his core electorate.
“It’s a question of being a good citizen… our freedom is worth nothing if we infect our friends, neighbours or grandparents. To be free is to be responsible.” About 237,000 people protested across France on Saturday, including 17,000 in Paris, the interior ministry said, exceeding the 204,000 recorded last weekend — numbers that are extremely unusual for protests at the height of the summer break.
The number of people in hospitals in France with Covid-19 is still much below previous highs, but the government acknowledges that the country is fighting a fourth wave of the virus. Corsica and the Mediterranean coast, which experience a large influx of tourists throughout the summer, have had the highest number of cases. .
