I recently wrote about the impending implementation of the “pass sanitaire” in France. This system has now been in place for several weeks so I can relate my experience living under its restrictions unvaccinated.
My first surprise was before the official start. I was to meet a couple of Canadian students at one of the few places in Paris where you can have a pitcher of beer, La Javelle along the Seine. I was shocked to see this sign requiring the pass sanitaire, but also note the arrows pointing to a testing station a few meters away. At no cost I had the antigen test performed, received the pass over the phone, and then could enter all in about 15 minutes. The swab up my right nostril made solid contact with my tear duct. I was not feeling hurt, but I was half crying, with tears streaming down my right eye.
There has been opposition to the policy in the traditional French pattern of demonstrations. I participated in one of the early ones in Paris on Saturday (July 17th). It was rather small, I thought, and would never change the government policy. A middle aged woman stood on a bench in front of me to assess the crowd. Her shrug displayed the same pessimism that I felt. Here is a report on this demonstration; I am actually in the scene (the guy with a cap and shorts on the left center of the screen) for a few seconds starting at 4:00 to 4:20. Despite the demonstrations Macron seems to be holding firm, He has gone so far as to state that “I am a victim of your liberty” not to vaccinate. In one conversation someone asked me why would Macron be following a global conspiracy? I then heard in one of Reiner Fuelmich’s interviews that Macron was a member of the World Economic Forum Young Leaders program. Nuff said.
I have spent most of my time this summer in Burgundy where most people seemed indifferent to the restrictions. We also took a short trip to Spain by car. According to various websites, including official government sites, proof of vaccination or recent test results would be required to cross the border going in both directions. I took an antigen test at a pharmacy (at no cost) before we left. But I should have realized that between two Schengen countries there were no facilities for border control on the roads. But I did notice that there was a long backup going the other way at the French toll station about 5 km inside the border. This made me think that the French authorities might be checking. Thus, the day before returning to France we stopped in a clinic to have the test performed again. The nurse asked if I had had a recent test. After explaining about the test 5 days previous, and showing her the pdf on my phone, she suggested passing on doing the actual test but she would sign off that I was negative. I was happy to avoid another brain drill so I readily accepted. This cost 40€, but I should get reimbursed for 30€. The next morning we were not stopped, but police were getting in place at the toll plaza so perhaps they did do some checking there.
I received many supportive messages, many more than I have received for any other post I have made to LRC. I want to express my deepest gratitude to all of the correspondents. I think everyone is feeling isolated these days so a humane expression is especially important.
Several people described their own “tightening nooses” that are much more complicated than my situation. For example, as yet I don’t have a vaccine mandate from my employer. And even more reassuring is that I am on schedule to retire next month. Many people provided arguments and links to convince my family. As a regular reader of LRC and Robert Kennedy’s Children’s Health Defense most of the arguments, interviews and sites were familiar to me. My own observations that make the most concise arguments include that logically, the need for boosters means that the vaccines have failed. Also, apparently the same recommended dose for all the 7 billion people in the world cannot be very scientific (see the FDA download on the Pfizer vaccine) and very far from humane, personalized medicine.
I feel in limbo at the moment. I do not have the right to go to a restaurant, a museum, a cinema, or even have a cup of coffee at a cafe. I am not sure how I will feel about the lack of these basics as time goes on. Perhaps I can get tested for special occasions but I understand that they will no longer be paid for by the health system. With summer ending I think the pressure will increase.
The demonstration I participated in passed the church where my daughter was baptized, St. Pierre de Montrouge in the 14th arrondissement. You can see the giant advertisement on the scaffolding in the picture below. I thought as I passed that the source of our troubles is a loss of the sacred.
A final note:
My email service Excite.com is to be discontinued. My new email address is [email protected]. This service states that data is protected, but I can not attest to the performance. But I can state that to my knowledge they are not Google.
A few recent links I thought could be useful talking to family and friends.
Nature article providing data on one-year immunity for previously infected patients
Robert Barnes interview, this is a power grab by the successors to the eugenics movement.
Excellent summary by a doctor to the Israeli health minister
