On Saturday, the protesters took to the streets across France for the fourth consecutive weekend to oppose the new coronavirus health pass required to enter cafes or take intercity trains two days before the rules take effect.
The new rules advocated by the president, Emmanuel Macron, It is mandatory to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, test negative or have recently recovered from the virus to enjoy normal daily activities.
Macron, who will face re-election next year, hopes that these rules will encourage all French people to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and defeat the virus and its rapidly spreading Delta variant.
But opponents who have gathered on the streets in the past few weeks believe that in a country that values individual freedom, these regulations violate civil liberties.
Starting from Monday, a health pass is required to dine in a restaurant or drink in a cafe indoors or on the terrace. It will be mandatory for intercity transportation including high-speed trains and domestic flights, but not required in subway systems and suburban transportation.
Since July 21st, a pass has been required to visit cultural venues such as cinemas, theaters and museums. Its extension was approved by the French Constitutional Council on Thursday.
In just one of the few protests planned in Paris, hundreds of people marched from the western suburbs to the city center, chanting: “Freedom!” and: “Macron, we don’t need your pass!”.
Alexandre Fourez, a 34-year-old marketer wearing a mask, said that this was his first protest and that he himself had recovered from the new crown virus. “The problem with the health pass is that our hands are forced,” he said, adding that he “really finds it difficult to believe that its use is temporary.”
Later in the afternoon, other protests are planned across the country, including Lille in the north and Toulon on the Mediterranean coast.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, more than 200,000 people participated in the protest last weekend, and more than 160,000 people participated in the protest the previous weekend. The police do not expect the number of people to decrease this weekend.
Although many of the protesters were those who refused to receive the vaccine, some received the injection but opposed the principle of the health pass.
Government spokesperson Gabriel Attal said that the pass will be required as the country fights the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and according to current regulations, the pass will be required until November 15 Can be used to avoid further restrictions.
“This is an additional restriction, but it is also a restriction that allows places to remain open,” he said, while emphasizing that people and businesses will have a one-week “grace period” to adapt to the new rules.
Macron in his vacation home in the south of France many times in recent days Use the social media platform TikTok, Very popular among young people to convey his message.
“Get vaccinated. Get vaccinated. Get vaccinated,” Macron said in his latest video on Friday. “This is a question of good citizens… If we infect our friends, neighbors or grandparents, our freedom is worthless. Freedom is responsibility.”
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Since the announcement of the Health Pass program, the vaccine program has developed rapidly in France, and the government hopes that 50 million people will receive at least one injection by the end of August. Almost 55% of the population is now vaccinated.
Approximately 25,000 new infections were recorded on Friday. People still worry that overseas territories such as Guadeloupe and Martinique and the Mediterranean coast, including Corsica, will be hit by a large number of holidaymakers.
