Extension of the health pass: the Senate votes a widely revised text and challenges the executive – LCI

The Senate embarrasses the executive. Dominated by the right-wing opposition, the upper house on Thursday engaged in a standoff with the government by reducing from July 31 to February 28 the extension of the braking measures against the Covid-19 epidemic and by providing for a territorialized exit from the health pass. The bill on “various health vigilance provisions”, widely revised by the senators, was voted on at first reading by 158 votes for (the majority of LR and centrist groups) and 106 against.

The Socialists abstained. Voted against, in addition to the majority RDPI groups En Marche, CRCE with a communist and environmentalist majority, 21 LR senators, 11 centrists and the majority of the RDSE groups with a radical majority and Independents.

Deputies and senators will try to agree next week on a common version in a joint committee, a challenge as the positions are diametrically opposed. In the event of failure, the National Assembly will have the last word. The government “is determined to retain the month of July 2022 as the horizon”, Minister Brigitte Bourguignon said from the outset at the opening of the debates. For the leader of senators LR Bruno Retailleau, the modified text “bears the mark of the Senate”, at a time “guardian of public freedoms” and “concerned about the balance of power”.

Rapporteur LR Philippe Bas considers that “three and a half months is fine, eight and a half months is too much”. It is up to the government to come back to Parliament to extend beyond that, if the health situation so requires.

The Senate also put the health pass “endangered”, in the words of the rapporteur. At the end of a heated debate in the hemicycle, coupled with backstage meetings between the LR and PS groups, an amendment was adopted by Marie-Pierre de La Gontrie (PS), completed by Jérôme Bascher (LR). the “compromise“thus obtained, but to which the government does not subscribe, aims to territorialize the use of the health pass from November 15. It would be limited to the departments that have not reached a vaccination rate of 80% of the eligible population and in which an active circulation of the virus has been observed.This rate of 80% will be reached on November 15 in all the departments of metropolitan France, according to Marie-Pierre de La Gontrie.

The establishment of the health pass would nevertheless remain possible to access establishments welcoming vulnerable people in all departments. “The time has come for relaxation”, said Bruno Retailleau. On the other hand, the Senate rejected the amendments aimed at the outright abolition of the health pass. The Minister of Health Olivier Véran believes that he does not have “enough hindsight at this stage” to “deprive of a tool that is functional” and “very well accepted by people”.

As everywhere in Europe, the epidemic is experiencing a rebound in France at the start of the cold season. Government spokesman Gabriel Attal confirmed on Wednesday “a light but sensitive recovery”, with 5,400 cases detected per day on average, while estimating that France could hope “a relatively calm winter” thanks to its vaccination rate.