France: Thousands protest against vaccination, Covid passes

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Paris (AFP) – More than 100,000 people across France protested on Saturday against recent government measures to push people to get vaccinated and curb rising infections with the delta type of coronavirus.

In Paris, the far right and the far left wound separate protest rallies across different parts of the city. Demonstrations were also held in Strasbourg in the east, Lille in the north, Montpellier in the south and elsewhere.

Thousands of people have responded to calls to take to the streets by Florian Philippot, a far-right politician and ex-right hand of Marine Le Pen who announced earlier this month that he would run in the 2022 presidential election. Protesters gathered a stone’s throw from the Louvre and chanted “Macron, leave!” ” And “freedom” they beat metal spoons on the pots.

While Philippot has staged small but regular protests against the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, Saturday’s rally drew a larger and more diverse crowd of people widely disenchanted with politics: yellow vest activists angry at perceived economic injustice, far-right supporters, and medical staff. The royals.

They deplored the government’s decision on Monday to make vaccinations mandatory for all health care workers, and to demand a “health permit” that proves people have been fully vaccinated, test negative or have recovered from the virus in order to access restaurants and other public places. Today, Monday, the government of President Emmanuel Macron will present a bill to enshrine these measures.

“I will never get vaccinated,” said Bruno Auquier, a 53-year-old city councilor who lives on the outskirts of Paris. “People need to wake up,” he said, questioning the safety of the vaccine.

While France already requires many vaccinations to enter public schools, Okiere has pledged to take his two children out of school if the coronavirus vaccine becomes mandatory. “These new measures are the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Okier said.

The government has warned of the continued spread of the delta type, which authorities fear could again put pressure on hospitals if not enough people are vaccinated against the virus. The pandemic cost France more than 111,000 people and severely damaged the economy.

During a visit to a temporary vaccination center in the southwest, Prime Minister Jean Castix urged the French to stay together in order to weather the crisis.

“There is only one solution: vaccination,” he said, stressing that “it will protect us, and it will make us freer.”

At the Paris protest, a manual laborer in his sixties expressed bitterness at the jobs in his sector being sent abroad. A 24-year-old royal man said he was there to demand “the return of God and the King”.

Lucian, a 28-year-old retail store manager, said he wasn’t anti-vaccine, but he believed everyone should be able to do whatever they like with their body. “The government is going too far,” he said. His 26-year-old girlfriend Elise said, “I have had a diphtheria, tetanus and polio vaccine. But the COVID vaccine is very experimental.”

While the majority of French healthcare workers have had at least one dose of the vaccine, some are resisting the government’s decision to make vaccination mandatory for all medical facility workers.

At the Paris protest on Saturday, a 39-year-old Green supporter and hospital lab worker said she might resort to buying a fake vaccination certificate to avoid losing her job. A health care worker dressed as the Statue of Liberty described it as an “act of violence” to force people to get vaccinated.

In Montpellier, more than 1,000 people walked to the train station chanting “Freedom!” She holds signs that read, “Our children are not guinea pigs.” Security officials closed the main entrance to the passengers and dozens of police officers took up positions in front of them.

The Interior Ministry said 114,000 people took part in the nationwide protests.

During Friday night, vandals looted a vaccination center in the southeast. Home Secretary Gerald Darmanen has asked governors and police chiefs to beef up security for elected officials, after many complained they had received threats in recent days over recent measures to combat COVID.

Indecision about vaccines is widespread in France, although it appears to have faded somewhat as 36 million French have received doses of the coronavirus vaccine in recent months. Millions more have been injected or signed up for vaccinations since Monday’s announcement.

French healthcare workers have until September 15 to receive a vaccination. COVID permit requirements for all restaurants, bars, hospitals, malls, trains, planes and other venues are being introduced in phases starting Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the French government announced tighter border controls from Sunday, but also said it would allow entry to travelers from anywhere in the world who have been fully vaccinated.

This now includes people who received the Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccine. The move came after a worldwide outcry over the fact that the EU’s COVID-19 certification only recognizes AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in Europe.

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