France's Top Constitutional Court Backs President Macron's Covid Pass

The controversial pass has sparked mass protests, with critics accusing President Emmanuel Macron of running a health "dictatorship".

France's top constitutional authority on Thursday approved a Covid pass that limits access to cafes, restaurants and inter-city trains and planes to people who have been vaccinated or tested negative for the virus. The controversial pass, which will become ubiquitous from Monday, has sparked mass protests, with critics accusing President Emmanuel Macron of running a health "dictatorship". But the Constitutional Court said the restrictions voted by parliament last month represented a "balanced trade-off" between public health concerns and personal freedom. The biggest change concerns restaurants which will now have to turn away patrons who fail to produce the health pass.