A radical bill proposed by the French Government that would see unvaccinated people refused basic services such as public transport has been put on ice after a massive backlash.<\/strong><\/p>\n The proposed law<\/a> mandates that citizens have proof of a negative COVID test or \u201cpreventative treatment, including the administration of a vaccine\u201d in order to \u201caccess transport or to some locations, as well as certain activities.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the government has been forced to delay the legislation<\/a> after angry protests.<\/p>\n French Health Minister Olivier V\u00e9ran publicly postponed the bill in an announcement Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause there needs to be trust for the French people to go and get vaccinated of their own free will, because we\u2019re still in a state of sanitary crisis \u2026 the government won\u2019t present the text [to the National Assembly] for several months, before we\u2019re out of the crisis,\u201d V\u00e9ran stated.<\/p>\n The bill was lambasted by political figures across the spectrum, with conservative MP Fabien Di Filippo labelling it \u201cvaccine blackmail.\u201d<\/p>\n RN leader Marine Le Pen branded the vaccine measure \u201cessentially totalitarian.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn a backhanded way, this bill does not aim to make vaccinations mandatory, but will prevent anybody who doesn\u2019t comply from having a social life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n RN party spokesman Sebastien Chenu called the plan a \u201chealth dictatorship,\u201d while centrist senator Nathalie Goulet said the draft was \u201can attack on public freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n Guillaume Peltier, deputy leader of the center-right LR party, warned that the law would allow the government to \u201cget all the power to suspend our freedoms without parliamentary control.\u201d<\/p>\n France\u2019s vaccination program, set to get underway on Sunday, will not be mandatory, but a majority of 55% of citizens say they will not get the shot.<\/p>\n As we previously\u00a0highlighted<\/a>, France has imposed some of the strictest lockdown measures in Europe, with citizens having to fill out a form every time they leave their home.<\/p>\n