France forces Djokovic to get vaccinated if he wants to play at Roland Garros

The French Government, which a dozen days ago had indicated that the Serbian Novak Djokovic could participate in the Roland Garros tournament even if he was not vaccinated, has rectified and warns that all those who compete will have to have the complete guideline, just as the public and the professionals involved will be required.

The rectification came from the hand of the Sports Minister, Roxana Maracineanu, on the night of Sunday to Monday, hours after Parliament definitively adopted the bill which will impose a vaccination certificate for many activities of social life, which includes attending sporting events.

In a message on his Twitter account, Maracineanu confirmed that this health certificate has been adopted, so that “since the law is enacted, it will be mandatory to enter spaces already subject to the health passport (stadiums, theaters or halls) for all spectators, practitioners, professionals, French or foreign”.

The minister took the opportunity to thank the sports movement for its action of “convicting the last and few unvaccinated” and insisted that both now intend to work together to “preserve the competitions” and promote the vaccination passport “at the international level.”

It had been the same Maracineanu who on January 7, in the middle of the political and judicial dispute in Australia due to the presence of Djokovic Despite his refusal to be vaccinated, he had indicated that the Serbian could participate in Roland Garros, scheduled between the end of May and the beginning of June.

The French head of Sports argued then that France would apply an exception to the obligation of the vaccination certificate to athletes in international competitions, so that the new French regulations would not apply to them and they could compete even without being immunized.

He justified it with the argument that in international competitions the “mandatory protocols imposed by the federations” govern. which, as he hinted, would be above French regulations.

Keep in mind that, unlike what happens in Australia, to enter France you do not necessarily have to have the complete vaccination schedule. You can arrive in the country with a health passport that proves to have a negative test instead.

However, the bill on the vaccination certificate that should come into force at the end of this week (it is still pending an appeal before the Constitutional Council) is going to impose it to have a drink in a bar or a restaurant, to go to the cinema, a show or a stadium, but also to use long-distance public transport (buses, trains, planes or boats).