France: Tens of thousands of people demonstrate against the COVID pass, vaccination

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of France on Saturday to protest against the new coronavirus rules announced by the government earlier this week.

Controversial measures include compulsory vaccination for health workers and the requirement for citizens to bring a health pass to most public places.

The health pass is given to those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or who have proof of a negative test carried out within 48 hours.

In Paris, the blouse of a demonstrator said “No to compulsory vaccination, freedom violated!” “, While that of another said:” Macron, no to the sanitary dictatorship “.

In Marseille, demonstrators held a banner depicting the faces of politicians, including French President Emmanuel Macron with Hitler’s mustache.

About 1,500 people demonstrated in the French capital.

In the southern cities of Montpellier and Marseille, the authorities counted 5,000 and 4,250 demonstrators respectively.

Protesters also took to the streets of Toulouse, Nice, Lille, Strasbourg, Metz and other cities.

“We are not anti-vaccine at all. We just want everyone to have the freedom to be vaccinated or not. PCR tests may be enough and then we must keep them free,” Aurélie and Tiphaine told AFP, employees of the shopping center. .

Several yellow vests protesters took part in rallies across the country.

“We are there for the demands of the yellow vests and the restrictions on freedoms. It is not another liberticidal law which makes us go out into the street. We have always been in the street”, declared Jérôme Rodrigues, figurehead of the movement of yellow vests.

A number of leaders of far-right parties joined the protest in the French capital.

The French government says the new measures are needed to curb the rapidly spreading Delta variant, which is fueling a wave of new infections in the country.

Public health officials reported more than 10,900 new cases on Friday, almost three times as many as in mid-June.

Since Macron’s announcements on Monday, vaccinations have increased in France after a sharp slowdown in recent weeks.

According to an opinion poll carried out earlier this week, 58% of French people approve of the extension of the health pass to cafes and restaurants. 66% are in favor of its use to access cultural places.

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