Representatives of shopping centers denounced Monday, July 19 the“Huge imbroglio” induced by government announcements around the health pass which will prevail or not depending on the presence near essential shops.
“This is all a huge mess”, launched Gontran Thüring, General Delegate of the National Council of Shopping Centers (CNCC). “The government was too quick on this story. We end up with a very complex situation and this is not good for the French, nor for the economy ”, he reacted to AFP.
Executive had proposed Sunday to limit the obligation to present a health pass to shopping centers of more than 20,000 m2, from the beginning of August.
Through the voice of his spokesperson Gabriel Attal, the government announced Monday evening that it wanted to maintain this obligation, while taking into account the opinion of the Board of state who ruled that access to basic necessities should be guaranteed.
“A disproportionate attack on freedoms”
In its opinion issued on Monday, the highest administrative court considered that the presentation of a health pass in shopping centers is “Likely to particularly concern the acquisition of basic necessities, in particular food”.
However, the court sees it “A disproportionate infringement of freedoms”, especially for people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons and which will therefore have to be “Test very regularly” to access these centers.
At the end of the Council of Ministers on Monday evening, Gabriel Attal announced that he had been “Decided to adapt the wording of this measure in the bill” of the government which extends the obligation of the health pass.
“Concretely, the article in the bill provides for the extension of the sanitary pass for shopping centers whose surface area exceeds a threshold which will be defined by decree”, said Attal, specifying that “The work track” concerned centers of more than 20,000 m2, ie some 400 structures.
In practice, if at “On the scale of a territory, there are shops which are not in the shopping center but which would allow the purchase of basic necessities, food or pharmaceuticals, so the health pass can be applied in the shopping center of this pool of life “, said the government spokesperson.
“Local appreciation of the prefects”
But when“We can only guarantee access to basic necessities in a large shopping center, there will be no use of the health pass in this shopping center”Mr. Attal added.
Concerning the more precise assessment of what a “Pool of life”, “We will do it in conjunction with prefects and local elected officials”, he continued.
“The mechanism proposed by the government does not seem to respond to the opinion of the Council of State and turns out to be complex, with an analysis by basins of life of which we do not really see how it will be done”, regrets Jacques Creyssel, general delegate of the Federation of Commerce.
He said to himself “Extremely surprised by this announcement, insofar as the Council of State mentioned very many violations of freedoms”. “The prefects themselves will interpret, so we will no doubt have different or even contradictory decisions depending on the departments”, feared Gontran Thüring.
“The real problem is that today it does not give visibility to the actors on the ground, because all this is left to a local appreciation of the prefects”, remarks Yohann Petiot, director general of the Alliance du Commerce. He hopes that the government will provide a clear reading grid to the prefects to minimize the risks of inequalities between the different territories.
However, one point seems to reassure professionals in the sector: “Gabriel Attal indicated on Monday that the health pass would not be checked in every store in shopping centers”, put forward Mr. Petiot.
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