French protesters blame COVID health pass rules for fourth weekend

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Bar and restaurant owners will protest French coronavirus disease (COVID-19) safety restrictions in Cambrai, France on August 7, 2021. REUTERS / Pascal Rossignol

August 7, 2021

Paris (Reuters) Protesters march through cities across France on the weekends of four straight weeks of protests, are vaccinated against their will and are forced to follow a healthy path in their daily activities. He blamed what he considered to be an oppressive rule.

They ran through the streets of Paris, Nice, Montpellier and other cities, holding up a sign saying ‘against dictatorship’ and saying, ‘Macron, I don’t want your health card.

The protests have brought together different groups against the law of President Emmanuel Macron. It aims to contain the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections across France and protect the country’s economic recovery.

Some demonstrators discriminate between left-wing anarchists and far-right activists, vestiges of the anti-government movement “yellow vests” which shook Macron’s leadership between 2018 and 2019, and anti-vaccine or health routes. ..

Vaccination rates have skyrocketed after Macron announced his health card plan last month. Currently, two thirds of French people are vaccinated only once and 55% are fully vaccinated.

Similar health passes have been introduced in other European countries to show evidence of vaccination or recent negative tests, but French passes and mandatory vaccination orders for healthcare workers are probably the most widespread.

Starting Monday, people will be required to present a health pass to eat in restaurants, receive non-urgent medical care in hospitals and travel by intercity train. They are already needed to access swimming pools, museums and nightclubs.

Healthcare workers must be vaccinated or suspended by September 15.

In the town of Cambre, in the north of the country, almost all restaurants and cafes have closed their doors to protest against the requirements of the health passport.

“We are not against vaccines. We don’t have to control our customers, ”said bar manager Laurent Zanie.

Street protesters accused Macron of trampling on his freedom and treating citizens unequally. The president says freedom has responsibilities, including protecting the health of others.

According to data from the Ministry of Health, 9 out of 10 COVID patients admitted to intensive care units at the end of July were not vaccinated. Studies show that the majority of French people are in favor of a health package.

The French Supreme Constitutional Authority ruled on Thursday that the law complied with the founding charter of the Republic.

(Report by Richard Lough in Paris, additional report by Pascal Rossignol in Cambre, edited by Frances Kerry)

Source link French protesters blame COVID health pass rules for fourth weekend

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