France’s health pass - ‘Un mal nécessaire’?
French civil defence force scanning a person’s “pass sanitaire”. Image Credit: via Unsplash
Modern day France and its social and political imaginaries are still rooted to a large extent in its revolutionary past and the narratives, whether mythical or otherwise, that surround it. For this reason, the French population is often perceived to be a population of remonstration and of protest. Against this background of political unrest, the French government’s responses to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic have almost inevitably divided public opinion. This is particularly true when analysing the implementation of the infamous pass sanitaire (health pass), a subject at the forefront of French political debate that is currently being discussed by the French parliament in regard to its potential extension. These debates invite a reflection on the extent to which the pass sanitaire constitutes a mal necessaire (a “necessary evil”), a consideration of its principles against the French tripartite motto liberté, égalité et fraternité, and consequently a questioning of the nature of today’s French government.
The pass sanitaire, consists of the digital or paper presentation of a QR code proving either the holder’s fully vaccinated status, recent recovery from Covid-19, or negative PCR or antigen test result received in the last 72 hours. This code is required in order for members of the French population to use modes of long-distance transport, as well to enter most public venues. Alongside the obligatory wearing of masks in public spaces, the pass sanitaire has been described by the French government as a means of preserving liberty, of allowing “normality” to resume, and therefore consequently of promoting economic growth and recovery in many sectors, such as tourism.
The introduction of the pass sanitaire in July 2021 was a move fraught with political risk for Emmanuel Macron, a president who has come under much criticism since the start of his presidency in May 2017. This criticism stems from Macron having diverted from the narratives of political “neutrality” and unity previously marketed by La République en Marche during the 2017 presidential election campaigns in an attempt to appease the centre right over issues of immigration and security. The measure was met with resistance, branded by large parts of the population as a coercive concept born from an authoritarian government seeking to infringe upon their personal freedoms, whilst also discriminating against certain beliefs and conspiracies surrounding vaccination.
Opposing political parties such as the Rassemblement National under Marine Le Pen and the left-wing La France Insoumise have to an extent endorsed this rhetoric citing the oppression of civil liberty, which presents the pass sanitaire as a means of coercion into vaccination rather than of simply preventing the spread of Covid-19. Under this line of argument, any choice to refrain from vaccination serves to exacerbate already existing inequalities, and any freedom of choice is consequently removed as people are heavily pressured into receiving vaccinations.
On the 9th November, Macron announced that the pass will continue to be valid for those in the population aged 65 and over, as well for those considered to be vulnerable, only on the condition that they receive a third booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccination within 6 months of their second. This announcement has been met with little backlash. The pass sanitaire remains a means to an end rather than an end in itself, and appears to be imagined as such by the French population.
Macron’s rhetoric rests on the assumption that the pass sanitaire, and consequently that vaccination, are fundamentally tied to the notion of liberty as its prerequisites. The pass sanitaire has driven vaccination, and cases have dropped with this surge, despite the fact that the pass sanitaire might oblige certain members of the French population to compromise on their own beliefs within the context of the pandemic. According to the political philosophy of Hannah Arendt, violence is that which occurs on the edge of the political sphere when compromise cannot be found. In this sense, the pass sanitaire emerges as a positive measure given the limited nature of current protests and the recent uptake in vaccination. According to OurWorldInData, 76.3% of the French population has now received at least the first dose of the Coronavirus vaccine, an increase from 51.2% at the start of July. Macron himself has said «Jamais dans notre histoire une crise d'une telle ampleur n'a été combattue de manière aussi démocratique» (“Never in our history has a crisis of such magnitude been fought in such a democratic manner”).
Against times of crisis, “democracy” becomes a much more loaded term. Crisis throughout history has both justified government intervention and been used to justify government intervention, and has been responded to through the implementation of emergency measures. These emergency measures cannot help but reinforce ideas of top-down authority, and in the case of France appear to have increased the power of an already strong French executive. Yet within the context of the Coronavirus pandemic, we should not forget that one of the principal roles of the state is the protection of its citizens. The case of the pass sanitaire represents part of this mission, a mission which has been pursued without any transgression of the rule of law, but which has revealed the inherently divisive and often seemingly oppressive nature of emergency powers. Macron’s implementation of the pass sanitaire therefore emerges as both a product of a slightly more authoritarian presence, but also of the fundamentally democratic system which consented to his government back in 2017.
The political legitimacy of the pass sanitaire and the extent to which it has helped or hindered French society during the Covid-19 pandemic ultimately remains subjective, yet the relatively low number of current Covid-19 cases in France alongside the lack of popular uptake for protest seems to suggest that Macron’s handling of this aspect of the Covid-19 crisis resonates positively with large parts of the population, as well as those outside of France. In a time where politicians are easily held accountable for their actions through various social media platforms and networks of communication, the general acquiescence of the French population speaks volumes, especially within a French nation rooted in a history of protest and revolution. In spite of the recent government announcement regarding the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, it remains still only to wait and see the results of the ongoing parliamentary debates over the pass sanitaire and its potential prolongation.