There are, however, no plans to reintroduce the health pass for use inside France despite the rate of cases increasing
The French government is preparing a draft bill to allow it to keep the Covid health pass in place for international travel in and out of France until March 31, 2023.
A health pass is not a document in of itself but is either proof of being fully vaccinated against Covid, proof of having recovered from it recently (a positive test) or proof of a negative Covid test.
International arrivals to France aged 12 and over currently have to present proof of either of these documents. People planning to travel from France to an amber-listed country must also show proof of being fully vaccinated. This measure was set to end on July 31.
In practice, travel companies or airlines are often no longer asking to see these documents.
The government has also written up plans to extend the use of France’s Covid test database SI-DEP and its system of alerting the close contacts of people with Covid until March 31, 2023.
Additionally, there are plans to create a new committee to monitor and anticipate health risks that would be attached to the Ministry of Health.
The exact remit of this committee remains unknown but its name suggests a similar role to the Conseil scientifique Covid-19, which was set up in March 2020 to offer scientific reports and insights into the spread of the virus.
The plans are still in the pre-draft bill stage but its contents were reported by French news site Atlantico and confirmed by the French health ministry to the news wire service AFP.
The draft text does not mention a more general prolongation of the state of health emergency beyond July 31. This classification can be used to allow the government to impose measures such as curfews and lockdowns. It also does not specify plans to reintroduce health or vaccine passes for use inside France.
The text instead allows for the extension of just a few specific measures, such as the health pass for international travellers.
This is in line with comments made by government spokeswoman Olivia Grégoire on June 8:
“We are not going to present a text that will extend all the existing crisis measures. We are not talking about the vaccination pass, the state of emergency, etc.
“What is important for us is to ensure that we are in a position to intervene if necessary, with the implementation of containment measures if the situation were to evolve or even degenerate after July 31.”
Masks on public transport
Professor Alain Fischer, who leads the government’s Conseil d’orientation de la stratégie vaccinale, has said that the possibility of reintroducing mask-wearing requirements on public transport is “being seriously discussed” during a France 2 interview last week.
He added that it was “probably sensible certainly for vulnerable people and probably for the whole population, because it is a collective protective measure and by making the small effort to wear a mask, we contribute to protecting at-risk people.”
Epidemiologist Pascal Crépey shared this view, “In packed trains, the risk of finding oneself in the presence of infected people is heightened. It would be a good idea for the population to wear a mask, mainly to protect the most vulnerable and avoid wide-scale infections.”
Among the first tests for new parliament
The government intends to propose the legislation as a projet de loi. This is a draft bill written and put to parliament by the government, rather than the more common method by which MPs submit bills, known as a proposition de loi.
President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance Ensemble! failed to win an absolute majority in the Assemblée nationale in elections earlier this month, meaning there is no guarantee that the government will be able to push this bill through parliament.
Government-supporting MPs could face a difficult challenge winning support from the far-right Rassemblement National with its 89 MPs who are likely to be against any measures which they see as curtailing people’s freedom.
The left-wing alliance Nupes, with their 131 MPs, may also give the government a hard time as it takes on the role of being a major opposition power.