People who are not fully-jabbed against Covid-19 are no longer allowed in France’s restaurants, bars, tourist sites and sports venues unless they have proof they recently recovered from the virus.
The new “vaccine pass” law is central to the government’s anti-virus strategy as the country registered Europe’s highest-ever daily coronavirus infection numbers.
Hospitals are continuing to fill up with Covid patients, though the number of people being treated in intensive care units has dropped in recent days.
The government has imposed few other restrictions amid the surge in the Omicron variant, focusing instead on the introduction of the vaccine pass.
Critics have questioned if the pass will make much difference in a country where 94 per cent of French adults have had at least one vaccine dose.
There have been widespread protests against the new law and the government hopes that it protects the most vulnerable and reduces pressure on crowded ICUs, where most patients are unvaccinated.
Since last summer, France has required a “health pass” to go to any cafe, museum, cinema or take a regional train or domestic flight.
However, unvaccinated people were able to activate the pass by getting a recent negative test until this week.
The new pass only works for people who are fully vaccinated, and those who recently recovered from the virus.
France, meanwhile, opened up access to booster shots to 12 to 17-year-olds on Monday.
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