When French prime minister Jean Castex and health minister Olivier Véran held a press conference last week, they outlined the timetable for a gradual easing of the country’s many Covid-19 restrictions. Véran talked of an ‘encouraging evolution’ in the fight against the virus, despite the fact that France had in the previous week recorded an average of over 300,000 daily cases.
As of 2 February, the wearing of masks outdoors will no longer be mandatory; a fortnight later, the French will be able to experience once more the pleasure of standing at a bar with a glass of whatever takes their fancy. Since the start of this month, this practice has been outlawed. Why a customer standing in a bar is at greater risk from Covid than one who is sitting has never been adequately explained. But the inexplicable has become the commonplace in France.
Why, for example, if there is an ‘encouraging evolution’ in the fifth wave of Covid sweeping across France, did the country report a record number of new cases yesterday? The figure of 501,635 is the first time that France has notched more than half a million cases in one day; in the same period, Britain recorded 94,326 positive tests.
Why is the pass in place? It’s a political act, part of Macron’s bid for re-election in April
A more troubling statistic released in France on Tuesday was the 30,000 people currently in hospital with the virus, the highest number since November 2020.
But the biggest question that remains unanswered is this: what exactly is the point of the vaccine pass, which came into force on Monday? Initially launched in July, in its original form, the pass permitted the double vaccinated to visit bars, cinemas, sports...
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