Thousands of people have flooded the streets of French cities, protesting against the implementation of a mandatory Covid-19 health pass for the general public, as well as compulsory vaccination for certain categories of people.
Mass protests kicked off in several French cities on Saturday, with thousands condemning government plans to toughen anti-coronavirus restrictions. A huge march was held in Paris, where participants were accompanied by a massive police presence.
The protest has taken place without any major incident so far, with police and marchers only engaging in minor pushing along the route. At one point, law enforcement could be seen pepper-spraying protesters who tried to push against the police line.
Large protests have also been staged in other cities across the country. A massive column of protesters marched through the streets of the southwestern coastal city of La Rochelle to condemn the plans for a health pass.
Another massive protest was held at the northern French city of Lille, with footage from the scene showing the city center flooded with a sea of disgruntled demonstrators.
The latest round of protests, which have rocked the country for the past few weeks, comes after France’s top court deemed most of the controversial legislation package to be constitutional.
The legislation, approved by the court on Thursday, is expected to come into force on Monday.
The court shot down several provisions, but green-lit the most controversial ones, including the implementation of mandatory health passes for the general public, which will be required to visit most public venues.
The legislation also implements mandatory Corona-virus vaccination for front line healthcare workers and some other categories of French citizens.
While critics of the legislation have accused the government of trampling on civil rights and even sliding towards a “dictatorship,” the authorities have insisted that the package is designed only to encourage vaccination.
RT. com / ABC Flash Point News 2021.
The french are quick to protest, but sadly it is no longer an efficient way to make a change. The police are numerous, and their advantages are many. It costs the government very little to sic the police on the protesters, and influence the media to near silence, even when peaceful protesters are maimed or killed. For protests to matter, it has to be more expensive for the government to use force against the protesters, than it would be to comply with the demands of the protesters. How to do this without resorting to putting police at greater risk than… Read more »
Activist mind?
“Thousands”??? Why minimize the numbers? There are more likely millions. At the very least, 100’s of thousands.
Indeed ….