Staff of Reuters Read for 2 minutes PARIS, France (Reuters) – On Tuesday, French businesses were perplexed as to how a new government proposal mandating them to bar persons who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 from shopping centers would function in practice. Following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, people wearing protective face masks wait outside the department store Le Printemps Haussmann in Paris on the first day of summer sales, July 15, 2020. Gonzalo Fuentes/Gonzalo Fuentes/Gonzalo Fuentes/Gonzalo Fu Retailers said an expansion of COVID health pass requirements announced by President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday would be tough to implement ahead of a meeting with Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Wednesday. In an effort to slow the spread of the virus, Macron announced that a health pass would be required to enter places of leisure and culture beginning July 21, and that it would be required in bars and restaurants, shopping malls, hospitals, planes, and long-distance trains and buses beginning early August. A health pass would require proof of double COVID-19 vaccination, recovery from sickness, or a recent negative test. On C-News TV, retail federation FCD chief Jaques Creyssel said, “The government does not want to make immunization necessary for all and puts the onus on private firms.” He said it was difficult to comprehend how a customer in need of food or medicine could be stopped. He went on to say that the business employs a lot of young people, many of whom are unvaccinated, and that getting everyone ready by early August would be impossible due to the time it takes to acquire two shots. “We hope that the bill that will be voted on makes it clear that public authorities will be in charge of access control, because we cannot do it ourselves,” he said. On his Twitter account, Dominique Schelcher, the CEO of French retailer System U, stated that implementing a health pass system at a supermarket’s entrance would raise numerous issues, including who would be in charge of control, what to do in the event of a conflict, and what to do with non-vaccinated employees. He also stated that the new rule will only apply to shopping malls and not to tiny neighborhood supermarkets. Geert De Clercq and Gwenaelle Barzic contributed reporting, and Nick Macfie edited the piece./n
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