On Saturday, July 31, mass protests continued in France against the use of the “health passport” as a mandatory document for access to restaurants, trains, and planes, as well as mandatory vaccination of doctors.
This is reported by Le Figaro and BFMTV.
Last weekend, more than 160,000 people took part in the protests, this time about 150,000 is expected.
Thousands of people came out in Paris, they do not give an approximate estimate of the number of demonstrators.
In some places, residents of houses on the way of the column opened windows, waved yellow vests from them, and shouted “Freedom!”.
There are reports of clashes with the police on the Boulevard du Temple, through which the column was moving in the direction of the Bastille.
Correspondents talk about the numerous use of firecrackers, to which the police respond with tear gas. Some participants of the action tried to build a barricade, after that the detentions began. At least three policemen were injured.
In the South-East Department, the police estimate the number of participants at 20,000.
A demonstration of thousands is taking place in Marseille, the Prefecture of police estimated the number at 4,800 people. There were clashes near the prefecture — protesters tried to cross the barrier, some threw firecrackers, after which the police began to push them back. One detainee is reported.
About 6,500 people gathered in Nice, about 8,500 in Montpellier, about 2,500 in Nantes, and about a thousand in Lyon. There are also protests in Toulouse, Nancy, and Lille.
Recall, despite the previous protests, on the night of July 26, the French parliament approved a law requiring the presentation of a “health passport” in restaurants and for domestic trips around the country, as well as obliging all doctors to be vaccinated.
74 deputies appealed the adopted law to the Constitutional Council, considering that a number of provisions “ clearly contradict a number of rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.”
A poll commissioned by BFMTV by the Elabe Institute shows that 76% of French people support the idea of mandatory vaccination for doctors and care staff, and 58% support admission to restaurants and shopping centers on “health passports”.
