The Continuing Adventure of Covid documentation, the Pass Sanitaire, and the French health system – Part One.

 We took a bit of a chance coming to Lyon June 16.  This was only one week after the French government lifted its Covid-inspired ban on American tourists.  We knew there would be glitches as there always are when rules change.  Plus, the airlines are responsible for vetting the eligibility of travelers to enter Europe.  Plus, each country had slightly different requirements, and our plane was not going directly to France, but to Amsterdam.  Even allowing a week for the dust to settle, Delta Airlines was still not totally up to date on screening passengers for compliance with French requirements – partly because France was not completely clear on what constituted proof of vaccination.  Delta’s website was not completely up to date, so the ticket agent where we checked our bags and had our boarding passes printed had to call Delta’s headquarters in Atlanta to ensure that she was checking the correct documents – vaccination certification, negative PCR test done less than 72 hours before take-off, etc.  That took about 30 minutes – luckily we had plenty of time.

Entering Europe was fairly smooth – they checked our vaccination papers in Amsterdam where we changed planes for Paris, but not in Paris.  After all the checks we had to go through to get that far, they must have assumed everything would be in order.

We arrived in Lyon on the hottest day of the year so far – 94-95 degrees.  There was still a curfew in place starting at 11PM, but that vanished after two weeks – besides us old people are not often out that late.  Most places such as museums and restaurants were open again, so our routine French life could fall into a familiar pattern.  We had made no travel plans inside France as we did not know what would be open, what rules would be in place, etc.

Then – surprise – the French government began to implement a policy called the ‘Pass Sanitaire’.  This is a document - either paper or on your smart phone - with a QR code linked to your French Covid vaccination records.  Without this document, starting August 1 and August 9, you cannot go into most enclosed spaces, cannot patronize a bar or restaurant either inside or outside, cannot ride intercity trains, buses, or planes, etc., etc.  About the only exceptions are grocery stores and small shops necessary to purchase needed supplies like food and wine. 

To make it easier for everyone to get vaccinated, a walk-in vaccination center opened at the Part Dieu shopping center near our apartment.  At first, only a trickle of customers.  After the Pass Sanitaire mandate - there were lines!

Walk-in Vaccination clinic at Part Dieu

This has had two basic reactions from the French – a huge rush to get vaccinated [which is the point, we think], and growing weekly demonstrations against the Pass Sanitaire program.  France is now a bit ahead of the US in percent of the populace vaccinated, but even with the rush to get vaccinated, it will take weeks for the rest of the populace to qualify for their Pass Sanitaire.  Life is going to be very difficult for the 50% of folks who are not yet fully vaccinated, as well as for the business people who must screen their customers to see if they have the coveted Pass Sanitaire. 

Coming next – the adventure of a pair of foreigners obtaining their Pass Sanitaires through the intricacies of the French Health System.