News Digest: UK Vaccine Rule Change and American Expats Speak Up

Protests against France’s Health Pass (Pass Sanitaire), which is now required for entrance to cultural venues, bars and restaurants, and long-distance transport across the country, continued this weekend. The now five-week-long protests have seen marches and demonstrations in Paris and other cities across France, with a nationwide turnout of around 215,000 at the most recent events.

Protesters voiced a range of concerns from the vaccination program itself to the impingement of the Health Pass on civil liberties to opposition to the mandatory vaccines for health workers. While protests have on the whole been peaceful, a small minority of protesters displaying anti-Semitic placards have led to police investigations in Paris and Metz.

Polls still suggest that the Health Pass has the majority of support from the public.

Not sure how the Health Pass works? Here’s everything you need to know.

The Health Pass might be splitting public opinion, but there’s no doubt that it’s achieving its primary aim—encouraging the initially vaccine-sceptic French public to get vaccinated.

Recent reports from Santé Publique France indicate that half of all teenagers in France have now received at least their first vaccine dose, a promising figure considering that vaccinations only opened to under 18s in mid-June. The figures for the general population (as of August 10th) now stand at 56.4% for full vaccinations, with 67.4% having received their first dose.

If you’re an American expat living, working, or studying in France, now’s the time to have your say! Congresswoman and chair of the Americans Abroad Caucus, Carolyn Maloney, is hosting a virtual ‘Town Hall’ meeting via Zoom on September 20th.

The event, moderated by CNN Paris news correspondent Jim Bitterman, will take place at 6pm French time and will allow attendees to pose questions on French rules, regulations, and policies that affect Americans living in France. If you have burning questions on taxes, finances, mortgages, or life in France, this is your chance to put them to the experts.

You can sign up for the event here until September 17th.