- About 36% of France’s 67 million people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
- COVID-19 vaccinations will be compulsory for healthcare workers in France.
- The French government will no longer hand out free COVID-19 tests from autumn onwards.
In a televised address today, French President Emmanuel Macron has informed French citizens that they will have to be vaccinated to be able to visit bars, restaurants, theatres, cinemas and board trains, and COVID-19 shots will be mandatory for French health workers.
According to Macron, COVID-19 vaccinations will be compulsory for healthcare workers in France, and a “health pass” proving vaccination status, or a negative test for coronavirus, will be necessary to board a train or visit most public places from August. All French citizens and residents over 12 years old will need a pass.
“We will extend the health pass as much as possible to push as many of you as possible to get vaccinated,” Macron said.
COVID-19 vaccinations for the general population will not be mandatory in the near future, but Macron did not take the option off the table. If inoculation rates do not pick up, the president warned that he will “ask the question of compulsory vaccination for all French people.”
Additionally, while a negative PCR test will be sufficient for obtaining a “health pass,” Macron said that the government will no longer hand out free COVID-19 tests from autumn onwards.
About 36% of France’s 67 million people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but the number of new coronavirus cases has been rising steadily since the beginning of July, driven by the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19.
France has an “entrenched” anti-vaccine movement that will likely be very unhappy with Macron’s aggressive vaccination drive.
