Thousands of people are marching in Paris and other French cities during a forth consecutive week of protests against COVID-19 entrance requirements
By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press
August 7, 2021, 3:20 PM
• 3 min read
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articlePARIS -- Thousands of people marched in Paris and other French cities Saturday during a fourth consecutive week of protests against the COVID-19 health passes that everyone in the country will need shortly to enter cafes, trains and other venues.
The demonstrations came two days after France’s Constitutional Council upheld most provisions of a new law that expands the locations where health passes are needed to enter.
Starting Monday, the pass will be required in France to access cafes, restaurants, long-distance travel and, in some cases, hospitals. It was already in place for cultural and recreational venues, including cinemas, concert halls and theme parks with a capacity for more than 50 people.
A largely peaceful crowd of protesters walked across Paris surrounded by police in full riot gear, carrying banners that read: “Our freedoms are dying” and “Vaccine: Don’t touch our kids.” Dozens of street protests were organized in other French cities, including Marseille, Nice and Lille.
Some demonstrators were also protesting that the government had made COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for health care workers by Sept. 15. Opponents say the pass limits their movements outside their homes and implicitly renders vaccines obligatory.
Polls, however, show that most people in France support the health passes, which show that people are vaccinated, have had a negative recent test or have recovered from COVID-19.
Muriel, 55, a Parisian who declined to give her last name, told The Associated Press that she especially protests “the disguised mandatory vaccination. ... it’s an incredible blow to our fundamental freedoms, so I don’t agree.”
Ghislain, 58, who also didn’t give his last name, vowed that starting Monday there would be strikes by hospital workers and firefighters and that opponents would boycott restaurants.
A separate protest organized by far-right politician Florian Philippot gathered thousands near the Health Ministry in central Paris. Many held French flags and called for French President Emmanuel Macron to resign.
In Reunion island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean which is under a partial lockdown amid a surge in COVID-19 infections, thousands went to the streets to protest the virus pass.
France is registering over 21,000 new confirmed virus cases daily, a steep climb from one month ago. More than 112,000 people with the virus have died.
Over 36 million people in France — about 54% of the population — are fully vaccinated. At least 7 million have gotten their first vaccine shot since Macron announced the health pass on July 12.
A growing number of European countries have started implemented virus pass requirements, each with slightly different rules.
Italy's “Green Pass” took effect on Friday. Denmark pioneered vaccine passes with little resistance. In Austria, the pass is needed to enter into restaurants, theatres, hotels, sports facilities and hairdressers. In Germany, protests in Berlin last weekend prompted violent clashes with police.
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Follow all AP stories on the global pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.
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AP journalists Arno Pedram and Oleg Cetinic contributed to the story.
