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UPDATE: France set to enforce Covid health pass in bars, restaurants and trains from August 9th

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UPDATE: France set to enforce Covid health pass in bars, restaurants and trains from August 9th
A restaurant owner checks customers' Covid-19 health passes before installing them at a table at the Siesta Restaurant in Ile Rousse on the northern part of the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, on July 23, 2021. - Northern Corsica has a rising number of Covid-19 contaminations this last week, obligating new restrictions. Few restaurants have volunteered to check customers' heath passes and Covid-19 tests, to be able to operate at full capacity. (Photo by Pascal POCHARD-CASABIANCA / AFP)

France's health pass is set to be extended to bars, restaurants and long-distance train and bus travel from August 9th, government spokesperson Gabriel Attal announced on Wednesday afternoon.

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The health pass extension bill, which was passed by Parliament on Sunday night, first needs to be approved by the Constitutional Council, which should announce its decision on August 5th.

On August 9th, "the extended health pass will come into effect with, in the beginning, a period of adaptation, of tolerance, of pedagogy" of around one week, Attal said in a press conference.

 

In his July 12th address to the nation, President Emmanuel Macron announced that passengers on long distance train and bus journeys - as well as people entering bars, restaurants, cafés, hospitals and nursing homes - would need to show the health pass "from the beginning of August".

The pass has been required in culture and leisure venues holding more than 50 people since July 21st. This applies to theatres, cinemas, libraries, theme parks, concert halls, festivals, swimming pools or leisure centres, museums and monuments.

Speaking to BFM earlier on Wednesday, transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari had already suggested the health pass extension would take place between August 7th and 10th.

He also provided more details about how the pass will apply to train passengers.

"For internal flights, and for long-distance trains, meaning TGVs, intercités and night trains, you will need to show a health pass," Djebbari said. Checks will mainly be carried out in stations, before and after travelling, but there will also be "random checks" on board the trains.

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"We're going to try to do it in the most fluid and operational way possible in order to have a good rate of checks, and at the same time avoid making passengers' lives difficult," Djebbari said. He added there would not be "systematic" checks, "in the same way that, during the curfew, there were not systematic checks on people who were going out."

The pass sanitaire, as health passports are known in France, proves that the bearer has either been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, has already recovered from the virus having tested positive more than eleven days and less than six months ago, or has received a negative test result in the past 48 hours.

Djebbari also announced that the SNCF will reimburse travellers who test positive before they are supposed to leave. "The same will apply for planes," he said.

Passengers are currently able to receive a refund on train tickets by cancelling up to three days before departure, but this policy is set to be modified to account for those who are not vaccinated and who will therefore need to take a PCR or antigen test 48 hours before travelling.

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Anonymous 2021/07/30 14:38
I am on several living in France groups on FaceBook. They are reporting that although they have entered their details into the TousCovid app (with confetti to say it's logged), when they go to venues it is not being read by the venue readers and they are being turned away. I know we have been told the NHS app will be accepted but is there a way to confirm that this is the case?
sharon_607940e3df70c 2021/07/29 20:50
What are the rules for under 18s. I read that this wont come into effect until August 30th. Is that correct? Thanks
Anonymous 2021/07/28 18:17
It would be helpful to know if there will be facilities at the airports to covert our CDC cards to the pass sanitaire. We arrive Lyon on August 23.
  • Anonymous 2021/07/29 10:08
    I've been told there is a process to do this at most pharmacies. They take the CDC card and enter your information into the French database, then provide you a QR code for the app. Then you can use the app/QR code just like anyone else. This is just 2nd hand information, not tried it personally. I have family coming in soon and will try it then. At very least, it's been said that the CDC card will also be accepted.
  • Anonymous 2021/07/29 08:55
    You’d be best to contact the airport directly
Anonymous 2021/07/28 16:08
Does this apply to restaurant terraces ?
  • Anonymous 2021/07/28 16:56
    Yes.

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