Thousands of French protest against health card
Thousands of people gathered today in Paris to protest against the health card, a certificate of vaccination against Covid-19 that is now mandatory to enter several places, and riot police responded with tear gas.
About 3,000 members of the security forces deployed this morning around the French capital to face the third weekend of protests against the health card, especially along the Champs Elysees, to protect the street from the intermittently violent invasion of protesters.
Demonstrations against the document – which will have to be displayed in most public places in France from August 9 – are being held in several cities across the country, with four protests in Paris alone.
With the escalation of Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations, the French parliament approved last Sunday the requirement to obtain entry permits to almost everywhere from next month, although opinion polls show that a majority of French support the decision adopted by some. The French were fierce.
A health pass is a document showing that a person has been vaccinated and immunized against the coronavirus or has a negative rapid test or evidence of a recent recovery from the infection.
Tensions escalated outside the popular Moulin Rouge nightclub in northern Paris in what appeared to be the largest demonstration, with rows of police confronting protesters and sporadic clashes.
As the protesters headed east, police fired tear gas into the crowd, causing some confusion and causing some injuries.
Less tense, another demonstration was organized in another area of Paris, led by the leader of the far-right, Marine Le Pen, which gathered hundreds of people towards the Ministry of Health.
Among those not present at the demonstrations today is François Aselineau, the leader of the anti-EU Republican People’s Union party and a hardline activist against the health card, but this week he contracted the Covid-19 disease.
The French authorities decided to create a health card after increasing the number of infected people, due to the delta type of disease, which is considered more contagious and dangerous.
On Friday evening, 24 thousand new cases were announced within 24 hours, which represents a significant jump from the few thousand daily infections that were recorded at the beginning of the month.
More than 111,800 people have died of COVID-19 in France since the start of the pandemic.
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