Lockdown exit is barely done that the Delta variant forces France to come up with new restrictions. In his address on Monday July 12, 2021, Emmanuel Macron announced the health pass is now compulsory to access places of leisure welcoming over 50 people.
Starting from July 21, show venues, festivals, concerts or theme parks only open to people holding a pass. This restriction extends to bars and restaurants, shopping malls, hospitals, trains and more from early August.
A category of places open to the public yet is not involved in this new rule: the measure does not apply to places or worship although they welcome over 50 people.
According to Le Figaro, as they interview the Prime Minister office this past July 13, places of worship (churches, mosques, temples…), enjoy a special process exempting them from some obligations.
“The health pass does not apply to places of worship as they enjoy constitutional protection”, Matignon told our peers.
From the beginning of the pandemic and restrictions, places of worship have been enjoying a special treatment: in November 2020, the Council of State voted for the Catholic Church, removing the 30-visitor gauge for services. The Council of State thought activities in places of worship are not “of the same nature” as the other places open to the public, such as movie theaters or show venues, and the “fundamental freedoms at stake are not the same”.
