Tourists will need a special COVID pass to visit the Eiffel Tower or visit museums and cinemas in France in a desperate move by its government to curb the spread of the Delta variant.
People must show that they are fully immunized, have a negative test, or prove that they have recently recovered from COVID-19[feminine] to get a pass.
Following a government decree, the obligation came into force on Wednesday in cultural and tourist sites.
President Emmanuel Macron announced the deployment last week in a bid to boost vaccinations.
The sanitary pass was previously only required for large-scale festivals or discos, but it will also be required from the start.
of August for entering restaurants and bars and for long-distance travel by train and plane.
French MPs will debate the bill on Wednesday, which has drawn resistance from many, with anti-vaccine protesters planning a demonstration later.
The new measure comes a day after the country recorded 18,181 new infections in 24 hours, more than double the figure from just a week ago.
Infections increase in France
France last recorded more than 18,000 daily infections on May 13, when the country was under a nighttime curfew and non-essential shops, bars and restaurants were closed.
Some regions are now reimposing virus restrictions amid surging cases, due to the Delta variant first identified in India.
It comes after holidaymakers and industry groups denounced the late decision to take Britons are quarantined for 10 days upon returning to the UK from France.
UK residents who have had two COVID bites no longer having to self-isolate after returning to England from Orange List countries such as Spain, Portugal and Greece – and France was supposed to be on that list.
But last week the UK government said France would be excluded as it reviews the latest data on rising cases of the beta variant in the country.
This means travelers must continue to self-quarantine for 10 days.
The latest figures show that around 37.8 million people in France have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine and 30.7 million are fully vaccinated.
His government estimates it will reach its target of 40 million first doses by the end of July – a month ahead of its original schedule.
