France requires coronavirus passes for visitors to tourist attractions including Eiffel Tower
- The rule came into effect on Wednesday, the first step in a campaign against what the government calls a ‘stratospheric’ rise in Delta variant infections
- To get the pandemic pass, people must prove they are fully vaccinated, have tested negative for the coronavirus or recovered from Covid-19
Visitors now need a special Covid-19 pass to ride up the Eiffel Tower or visit French museums or cinemas, the first step in a new campaign against what the government calls a “stratospheric” rise in Delta variant infections.
As the new rule came into effect on Wednesday, tourists who came to the Paris landmark unprepared lined up for quick virus tests at the site. To get the pandemic pass, people must show they are either fully vaccinated, have tested negative for the coronavirus or recovered from Covid-19.
“The world is facing a new wave, and we must act,” Prime Minister Jean Castex said.
The solution is “vaccination, vaccination, vaccination”, Castex said on Wednesday on TF1 television, urging his compatriots to sign up for vaccine injections to avoid new lockdowns. Of France’s 18,000 new coronavirus cases reported on Tuesday, 96 per cent involved people who were unvaccinated, he said.
But people opposed to vaccines and being asked to present passes showing their immunity status are growing increasingly vocal. A group of protesters attending an anti-pass demonstration in the Alpine city of Chambery broke away and entered the town hall, removing a portrait of French President Emmanuel Macron from a wall and taking it away.
“The city of Chambery condemns this intrusion with the greatest firmness,” the local government said in a statement.