Protesters march in France for fourth weekend denouncing coronavirus vaccines and health passes
- Protesters rallied through the streets of Paris, Nice, Montpellier and other towns, and in Lyon police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators
- From Monday, people will have to show a health pass to eat in a restaurant, access non-emergency treatment in a hospital or travel on an intercity train
Protesters marched in cities across France on Saturday in a fourth consecutive weekend of demonstrations, denouncing what they see as oppressive rules forcing health workers to get Covid-19 vaccinations and citizens to have a health pass for many daily activities.
In Lyon, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters hurling projectiles at their lines, TV images showed.
Protesters also rallied through the streets of Paris, Nice, Montpellier and other towns waving placards reading “No to dictatorship” and chanting “Macron, we don’t want your health pass”.
The protests have united a disparate group against President Emmanuel Macron’s legislation, which is meant to help contain a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections spreading across France and help safeguard the country’s economic recovery.
Among the protesters are hard-left anarchists and far-right militants, remnants of the anti-government “Yellow Vest” movement that shook Macron’s leadership during 2018-2019, and also other citizens who are anti-vaccine or consider the health pass to be discriminatory.
Vaccination rates jumped after Macron unveiled his health pass plans last month. Two thirds of all French people have now received one dose and 55 per cent are fully vaccinated.