French Senate changes COVID pass bill amid protests

The upper house of the French Parliament has adopted amendments to President Emmanuel Macron's bill on the introduction of covid passes, Le Figaro reports.

In particular, such passports will now be required only for adults, despite the fact that the previous version of the document provided for mandatory vaccination for all French people over 12 years old.

In addition, it was decided to extend the validity of COVID passes only to the indoor premises of catering establishments, excluding verandas. The senators came to this decision, believing that the risk of infection in the open air is lower.

In addition, another requirement has been changed. Whereas the original version stated that a pass would be required for a room that could, in principle, accommodate 50 people, the revised version refers to the actual presence of that many people in the room.