Por Gabriela Lombardi and Thomas Corsaro
With the reduction in the number of Covid-19 cases and several public vaccination plans underway in Europe, last months, the governments of the Netherlands and France decided, together with other members of the European Union, implement a âHealth Passportâ system to reopen and encourage the traffic of people across Europe. further, some of these countries have also started to require vaccination certificates., which have as their main objective the prevention of the disease, but also allow a greater incentive to economic activities such as the occupation of bars, restaurants, festivals and sporting events. In compensation, several governments have lifted social distancing restrictions for those already vaccinated, seen the most favorable context. However,, after the declaration of mandatory vaccination to health professionals and the announcement of health passports and certificates, parts of the population condemned these decisions for restricting their freedom., accusing their rulers of authoritarianism for using such mechanisms. As a result of these accusations, riots and protests were unleashed, in addition to this new occurrence, significantly influence future elections for new representatives.
The passport, which came into effect in the block on 1 of july 2021, it is part of a unified system that centralizes travelers' health information so that they can travel across the Schengen Area. For tourists from within the EU, it shows if your carrier has already been vaccinated against Covid-19, tested negative for the disease or if you contracted the virus and have antibodies.
However,, even before coming into effect, there were already protests against state prevention measures, as in the day 25 September 2021, Where, in a peaceful demonstration organized on Dam Square, in Amsterdam, hundreds of thousands of Dutch people across the country gathered in defense of freedom and against authoritarian health measures still in force.
Protesters carried flags and banners with words in protest against the pressure exerted by the government on the people to be vaccinated, and against a possible introduction of the health passport, as well as stickers distributed with the slogan âBorn to be freeâ. Near 60 organizations participate in the demonstration, with slogan âTogether for Hollandâ, according to one of the organizers, Michel Reijinga. According to the organization, this is the "greatest demonstration since the introduction of restrictive sanitary measures in the country".
Meanwhile, in France, in day 15 of September, the health pass, which proves that the person received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, became mandatory for all professionals in the health sector.. The rule was established in July, to convince professionals reluctant to immunize, imposed by the government of Emmanuel Macron. Like this, mislanders of protesters took to the streets of several French cities to protest against the document is that, according to the authorities, had a heterogeneous crowd, including "yellow vests", far right activists or, most widely, political opponents of the government. In addition, some incidents have been reported in Paris on the outskirts of the Champs-Elysées, where police fired tear gas to prevent access to protesters and, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP), several people were arrested.
In view of the French presidential elections in 2022 and the Macron Government's public unpopularity vis-Ă -vis policies against Covid, with approximately a third of the French population rejecting the health pass plus others before the pandemic, an electoral defeat in future elections is not unlikely unless there is a change in public perception. In addition, in the Netherlands and in the Benelux as a whole, the political situation proves to be more stable, despite protests against the government's restrictive measures in the case of the Netherlands. Having that in mind, the political context of these countries is still willing to change as well as their prevention policies.
Bibliographic references:
AFP. In France, thousands of people protest against the health pass. 04 September 2021. Available in: https://noticias.r7.com/internacional/na-franca-milhares-de-pessoas-protestam-contra-passe-sanitario-04092021 Access in: 14/09/2021.
AFP. France obliges health professionals to be vaccinated against covid-19. 14 September 2021 Available in: https://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/afp/2021/09/14/franca-obriga-profissionais-da-saude-a-se-vacinarem-contra-a-covid-19.htm Access in: 14/09/2021.
AGENCY STATE. French return to the streets against health pass for the 8th week in a row. 4 September 2021. Available in: https://www.opovo.com.br/noticias/mundo/2021/09/04/franceses-voltam-as-ruas-contra-passe-sanitario-pela-8-semana-seguida.html Access in: 15/09/2021.
CNN Spanish. Find out which countries are adopting 'vaccine passport' to lift restrictions. 27 of july 2021. Available in: https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/internacional/saiba-que-paises-estao-adotando-passaporte-da-vacina-para-suspender-restricoes/ Access in: 16/09/2021.
UOL.France: presidential election will be "civilization choice", diz Marine Le Pen. 12 September 2021. Available in: https://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/rfi/2021/09/12/franca-eleicao-presidencial-sera-escolha-de-civilizacao-diz-marine-le-pen.htm Access in: 16/09/2021.
GZH MUNDO. Netherlands reduces pandemic restrictions, but it will require a health passport. 14 September 2021. Available in: https://gauchazh.clicrbs.com.br/mundo/noticia/2021/09/holanda-reduz-restricoes-da-pandemia-mas-exigira-passaporte-sanitario-cktkmt5bc001o01eb03w2kxq5.html Access in: 14/09/2021.
LUSA. Mandatory vaccination of healthcare personnel in France takes effect tomorrow. 14 September 2021 Available in: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/1831673/vacinacao-obrigatoria-do-pessoal-de-saude-em-franca-entra-em-vigor-amanha Access in:15/09/2021.
Protest in France brings together more than 175 thousand against health passport. 21 August 2021. Available in: https://noticias.r7.com/internacional/protesto-na-franca-reune-mais-de-175-mil-contra-passaporte-sanitario-21082021 Access in: 15/09/2021.
RFI.Covid: French health professionals protest against mandatory vaccination. 14 September 2021. Available: in: https://www.bol.uol.com.br/noticias/2021/09/14/profissionais-da-saude-da-franca-protestam-contra-obrigacao-da-vacinacao-anticovid.htm Access in: 15/09/2021.
RFI. French protest for the sixth week in a row against restrictions on unvaccinated. 21 August 2021. Available in: https://g1.globo.com/bemestar/coronavirus/noticia/2021/08/21/franceses-protestam-pela-sexta-semana-seguida-contra-restricoes-a-nao-vacinados.ghtml Access in: 15/09/2021.
Twitter. Covid-19: Netherlands ends distancing and imposes health passport. Brazil, 14 September 2021. Available in: https://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/rfi/2021/09/14/covid-19-holanda-anuncia-fim-do-distanciamento-social-e-impoe-passaporte-sanitario.htm Access in: 15/09/2021.
