Almost a quarter of a million people took to the streets across France on Saturday for the biggest protests yet against a COVID-19 health pass needed to enter a cafe or travel on an intercity train, two days before the new rules come into force.
Similar but smaller protests were held in Italy.
Championed by French President Emmanuel Macron, the regulations make it obligatory to have either a full course of vaccination against COVID-19, a negative test or be recently recovered from the virus to enjoy routine activities.
Photo: Bloomberg
Macron, who faces re-election next year, hopes to encourage all French to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and thereby defeat the virus and the fast-spreading Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2.
However, opponents — who have now held four weekends of consecutive protests — say that the rules encroach on civil liberties in a country where individual freedom is highly prized.
About 237,000 people turned out across France, including 17,000 in Paris, the French Ministry of the Interior said, exceeding the 204,000 recorded last weekend — unusual numbers for protests at the height of the summer break.
In one of several protests in Paris, hundreds marched from the western suburbs to the center, chanting “Freedom” and “Macron, we don’t want your pass.”
Wearing a mask, Alexandre Fourez, 34, said he was protesting for the first time and that he had himself recovered from COVID-19.
“The problem with the health pass is that our hand is being forced,” the marketing employee said, adding that he “really has difficulty believing its use will be temporary.”
At least 37,000 people protested in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region on the Mediterranean coast in cities including Toulon, Nice and Marseille, officials said.
Slogans included: “The health pass means the death of freedoms.”
From today, the health pass is needed to eat in a restaurant or enjoy a drink at a cafe — indoors and on a terrace. It is obligatory on intercity transport, including high-speed trains and domestic flights, although not on metro systems and suburban transport.
The pass has already been required since July 21 to visit cultural venues such as cinemas, theaters and museums. Its extension was approved by the French Constitutional Council on Thursday.
In a slight easing of rules, French Minister of Health Oliver Veran on Saturday said that a COVID-19 test would be valid for the pass for three days instead of two.
Most of the protests were peaceful, but there were seven arrests in the southeastern city of Lyon for throwing projectiles, while in Dijon a tram line was blocked.
There were 35 arrests nationwide, the interior ministry said, adding that seven members of the security forces were lightly wounded.
Protests were held in a number of Italian cities against the introduction of new measures there requiring proof of COVID-19 status to attend indoor events and for teachers.
More than 1,000 people gathered in Piazza del Popolo in central Rome shouting “No Green Pass” and “Freedom.”
Thousands more marched in Milan.
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