French lawmakers to vote on Covid vaccine pass amid death threats
Gulf Times
People attend a demonstration called by French political party ‘Les Patriotes’ against the Covid-19 vaccine pass as French lawmakers attend a debate on the French government’s planned bill to transform the current health pass into a vaccine pass, at the National Assembly in Paris. The placard reads ‘No. Stop propaganda’.
Dozens of French lawmakers have reported receiving death threats from suspected anti-vaccination protesters, as parliament starts to debate legislation that would require people to show proof of vaccination to go to a restaurant or cinema or take the train.The new law, which would do away with the option to show a negative test instead of having the jabs, has the backing of most parties and is almost certain to be passed by the lower house in a vote as early as today.France has traditionally had more vaccine sceptics than many of its EU neighbours, but has one of the bloc’s highest coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccination rates, with nearly 90% of those aged 12 and over now fully vaccinated.The proposed tightening of the rules has nevertheless caused an upsurge of anger among anti-vaxxers, with some lawmakers saying they have been subject to aggression including vandalism of property and violent threats.Last week, the garage of a ruling party lawmaker was set on fire, with graffiti by suspected anti-vaccination protesters scrawled on an adjacent wall.“Our democracy is in danger,” said centre-right lawmaker Agnes Firmin Le Bodo, who on Sunday posted on Twitter an e-mail she received containing graphic threats to kill her over her support for the vaccination pass.Firmin Le Bodo, who is also a pharmacist and vaccinates people against Covid-19, said she would not back down on her support for vaccination or for the vaccine pass.However, she told BFM TV yesterday that the threats did make her wonder whether to run for a second term as a lawmaker in June.“These are extremely violent words,” she said.Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said last week that police would strengthen protections for lawmakers after other members of parliament, including Barbara Bessot Ballot, of ruling party La Republique en Marche, also went public with death threats.Bessot Ballot said a total of 52 lawmakers had received messages threatening to kill them for “attacking our freedom”, adding on Twitter: “Those death threats are unacceptable.”“Our battle is against Covid, and not against liberties,” she said.The lawmakers have said that they would not be cowed by the death threats.However, a tense debate in parliament yesterday highlighted what the government and the opposition described as widespread fatigue with the pandemic and measures to tackle it.“We will not yield,” Yael Braun-Pivet, of the ruling La Republique en Marche (LREM) party, told parliament. “It’s our democracy that is at stake.”Lambasting what he called the “selfishness” of those who oppose immunisations, Health Minister Oliver Veran said: “The aim of this law is not to curb freedoms ... it is to save lives.”France has for months asked people to show either proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test to go to a wide array of public venues.However, amid a surge in infections with the Delta and Omicron variants, and with most people vaccinated, the government has decided to do away with the negative test option.It aims for the vaccine pass to enter into force in mid-January, once it has been approved by both houses of parliament.France saw large crowds rally to protest against the health pass when it was first introduced over the summer, but the numbers of those attending weekend rallies has dwindled as acceptance of the vaccine has risen.