It was predictable: the debates around the examination of the health security bill in the face of the resurgence of Covid-19 took place in a stormy climate, Monday July 11 evening, at the National Assembly.
The examination of this text was shifted in the evening because of the debate on the motion of censure of the left towards the government, rejected during the afternoon after discussions, also electric.
For his baptism of fire in the hemicycle, the new Minister of Health François Braun immediately defended measures “very targeted but necessary”. This first text of the legislature, the examination of which will continue on Tuesday, legally confirms the end of the main restrictions from the end of July.
This is “the extinction of the legal regime of the state of health emergency” and you “health and vaccination pass in the daily life of the French”underlined the minister, claiming the “Civility” of everyone on wearing a mask in “crowded places and public transport”.
The much-discussed border health pass
This bill makes it possible to continue to collect health data on screening tests and vaccination, and authorizes a possible health pass at the borders. The government “join the calendar” voted by the deputies in committee for these two measures, permitted until the end of January 2023, rather than the end of March as planned in the original version, said Francois Braun.
Several elected officials have denounced the fact that the possible health pass at the borders applies for journeys between mainland France and overseas territories. The debate will not fail to be tight on this point during the examination of the second article of the text. In the afternoon, between 150 and 200 anti-sanitary pass demonstrators protested against the bill near the Assembly around Florian Philippot or the sovereignist deputy Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (not registered).
François Braun was booed by the elected National Rally (RN) when he repeated that the reintegration of unvaccinated caregivers was not “not on the agenda” given the epidemic situation. Same fate for the rapporteur of the Republic on the move (LRM) Caroline Abadie, heckled by the opposition when she estimated that “The government has been managing this crisis very very well for two years… You can shout louder. The French know it, they tell us every day..
“Buy yourself cotton swabs because you will have to do tests”, she finally let go, annoyed. RN Sébastien Chenu, for his first session presidency, tried to restore calm.
“Extremes meet”
At the podium, Raquel Garrido (La France insoumise, LFI) came to defend a motion of preliminary rejection, narrowly rejected by 192 votes against 174. “Get used to finding limits to your abuse of power”, she vituperated, supported by the other left-wing groups. But the RN also voted for the motion. “What are you waiting for to reintegrate these caregivers” unvaccinated “thrown away like filth”launched Thomas Ménagé (RN) to the government. “Extremes meet”we heard in the spans of the presidential majority.
“What image do you give to the French who watch us and who hope that we can work together”said to the oppositions the MoDem Erwan Balanant.
The president of the law commission, Sacha Houlié (LRM), took up the iron against the “populists” who have “communion hand in hand against vaccines” in committee, targeting the RN and LFI. “No, vaccines do not prevent contamination but, a thousand times yes, vaccines prevent contracting serious forms, (…) vaccines save lives! »he insisted.
The latter and Eric Coquerel, LFI chairman of the finance committee, took issue with the inadmissibility of the amendments. According to Republican MP Philippe Gosselin, “state of annoyance” in the hemicycle is explained by “a bit of a rush” around this bill. However, this text «A minima» does not deserve “infamy”he estimated.