The issue of the obligation to wear a mask on public transport “is on the table all the time,” he said this Thursday afternoon in France 5 Health Minister Francois Braun.
For now, the minister believes in the “responsibility” of the French who will follow the “solemn call” of Elisabeth Borne on Tuesday before the Assembly. “Let’s respect the barrier gestures, let’s wear the mask as soon as we are with fragile people or in areas of promiscuity”, thus pleaded the Prime Minister.
But if the situation, especially in hospitals, continues to deteriorate, the government could be tempted to reinstate this obligation to wear a mask, on transport or elsewhere.
To pass the obligation by a law?
It will no longer be as simple as before for the government to impose sanitary restrictions throughout the territory. The law of July 30, 2022, which puts an end to the state of health emergency, recalls that “the measures (confinement, curfew, use of a mask, health pass…) can no longer be taken, without the vote of ‘ A new law’.
But without an absolute majority in the Assembly, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to pass such a law for the executive. A member of the majority, an expert on the subject, qualified and gave another solution: “if the house burns down, we can issue a decree based on exceptional circumstances, the time necessary to have a vote in Parliament.”
In other words, in the event of strong waves and the beginning of saturation in the hospital, the government could then issue a decree, without consulting the opinion of the deputies. And the Council of State could let it slide, given the circumstances.
But this maneuver is still risky. “Probably a decree would be too fragile for a national obligation. A law would be needed,” explained a member of the executive. So it remains to be seen what tactic the government will employ if the indicators continue to soar.
Source: BFM TV
