Sharjah 24 – AFP: New rules came into force in France on Monday requiring people to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to enter bars, restaurants, trains and planes, after a fierce fight over details of the law in parliament.
A negative coronavirus test will no longer be enough to access leisure activities, some work events and long-distance travel.
The pass would "protect all those who host the public, because it prevents infections and allows them to stay open," Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told Franceinfo radio.
"Individual responsibility is the best protection against the virus," he added.
France is currently recording the highest daily infection rates of any major European country, with an average of 360,000 over the past week.
But outrage at President Emmanuel Macron's declaration early this month that he wanted to "piss off" the unvaccinated with restrictions until they accepted a shot slowed the vaccine pass law's passage through parliament.
The government had originally wanted to apply it from January 15.
How France emerges from the current wave sparked by the Omicron variant is seen as crucial in April presidential elections, where Macron is widely expected to stand although he has yet to declare his candidacy.
Despite the high levels of cases, Prime Minister Jean Castex last week announced a timetable for lifting Covid restrictions in France from February 2.
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