France’s health pass system has entered daily life, controlling entry to cultural and leisure centres and marking a new era in how visitors to major attractions can be reassured that pandemic risks have been minimised.
Museums, cinemas, theatres, tourist sites and other establishments attracting more than 50 visitors at any one time must demand proof of double vaccination or a recent negative Covid test as a condition of entry.
The rules are not without controversy. More than 110,000 demonstrators took to the streets across France last weekend to object to the supposedly “dictatorial” threat to their freedom posed by the requirement.
Having paused from admiring artworks at the Matisse museum in Nice, Dr Karim Belaid offered a poignant response those unconvinced by the need for inoculation against Covid-19.
“A patient of mine died from the virus,” he said. “She was infected by a nurse who had not been vaccinated.”
To Dr Belaid, 62, on holiday from his home and practice 100 kilometres east of Paris, the thought that his patient might still be alive had the nurse received the shots provides a powerful argument for inoculation.
“Everyone has to realise this is our only solution in the crisis,” he said. “Some young people are still reluctant. The health pass system helps but those who are perhaps unlikely to go to museums need to talk to others, see the vaccination centres in action.
”As for care workers and those in the health service, it is perfectly reasonable to require vaccination as a condition of employment in the sector.”
Most in France accept the view expressed by Dr Belaid. But a furious minority reaction has already persuaded President Emmanuel Macron’s government to put off or ease other planned measures, including sanctions for non-compliance.
Protesters ranged from health service professionals, facing suspicion or dismissal if they fail to accept vaccination by September, to far-left and far-right groups and relics of the anti-government gilets jaunes – yellow vests – movement that began in late 2018 and continued for more than two years before fizzling out by the start of the first French lockdown in March last year.
Some demonstrators likened the health pass to the yellow star Jews were forced to wear during the Nazi occupation of France in the Second World War, a comparison roundly condemned by political leaders and historians.
At the museum dedicated to the work of painter and sculptor Henri Matisse in the elegant Nice suburb of Cimiez, high above the Promenade des Anglais, staff dealt with a steady stream of visitors as the scheme went hesitantly into action.
“The machine to scan vaccination records isn’t working yet so everyone has to show the bar codes on their mobiles or proof of negative tests,” said a museum member of staff after completing an arts and crafts sessions with a small group of local children, exempt from the restrictions.
But on a hot midweek morning, there were not enough visitors to overwhelm counter assistants and the inspections were carried out smoothly with little obvious delay.
In one successful early test of the system’s fairness, clients with evidence of vaccination in other countries, including the UK, Switzerland and the Netherlands, encountered no difficulties when showing records stored on mobile phone apps.
This was important as foreign voices sometimes seemed to outnumber French ones inside the museum.
Three teenage girls from Zurich needed help from a nearby English speaker before they could understand instructions from members of staff but said they were reasonably impressed with the effectiveness of the controls.
All three, on holiday in Nice, were visiting the museum on the recommendation of a Swiss friend. Matisse, who lived from 1869 to 1954, was deeply attached to Nice, far from his roots in northern France. He lived nearby in the majestic Hotel Regina, now a block of luxury flats but once favoured as a winter retreat by the Britain‘s Queen Victoria and other European monarchs, and is buried in the local cemetery.
“We knew about the requirements from checking the museum online,” said Celine Lorenz, 18. “It was all fine and the museum is really nice. But it seems a little weird that we have to go through all that here, whereas we only had to provide proof of age at a nightclub.”
Her friends, Lena Haeberli, 17, and Leonie Gohl, 18, agreed but said they hoped the new system would motivate those reluctant to receive shots.
“It‘s a shame some people will be left out but it’s their choice if they refuse to be vaccinated,” said Leonie.
Celine added: “The pandemic is still there.”
Janne Hekhuis, part of a family group of three adults and five children from Amsterdam, spoke of the about-turn by Dutch authorities, saying they had re-imposed restrictions after realising they had been eased too soon. “It’s the big events like discos where much more caution is needed, rather than places like museums where social distancing is easier to maintain,“ she said.
The French government has acknowledged the arrival of a fourth wave of the epidemic, with the number of infections up by 229 per cent in a week and 21,000 new cases logged between Tuesday and Wednesday. The spread is especially rapid in areas attracting large numbers of holidaymakers.
The health pass scheme will be extended to other venues from the start of August but fines – already cut from a proposed €45,000 (US$53,000) for businesses failing to enforce controls to a starting penalty of €1,500 – will not be introduced until a date to be announced.
“We must explain to citizens that with our health security at stake, we are firm in our principles but also pragmatic,” said the prime minister, Jean Castex.
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Community Shield info
Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)
Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte
Referee Bobby Madley
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
Types of policy
Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.
Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.
Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.
Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.
GROUP RESULTS
Group A
Results
Ireland beat UAE by 226 runs
West Indies beat Netherlands by 54 runs
Group B
Results
Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets