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PARIS. – Thousands of people demonstrated in the streets of France again at the weekend against the government’s Covid-19 vaccination policies amid concern from rights groups about anti-Semitic sentiment in the protest movement.
The protests were called for the sixth weekend in a row to denounce a new “health pass” system announced by President Emmanuel Macron that they see as unfairly restricting the rights of the unvaccinated.
The Ministry of the Interior put the number of people turning out at around 175 000 at 220 demonstrations nationwide, including 14 700 in Paris.
Under the system, introduced progressively since mid-July, anyone wishing to enter a restaurant, theatre, cinema, long-distance train, or large shopping centre must show proof of vaccination or a negative test.
Around 200 different demonstrations were called across the country, with around 9,500 people counted in southern Montpellier, 4,000 in eastern Strasbourg and 3,400 in Bordeaux, according to local authorities.
At the head of the Paris march in the early afternoon, a few hundred people held up flags and banners with the word “Liberty” on them while shouting “Macron! We don’t want your pass!”
The protest movement has brought together conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers, former members of the “Yellow Vest” anti-government movement, as well as people concerned that the system unfairly creates a two-tier society.
Around 200,000 people have marched on previous weekends, according to interior ministry figures, and final tallies for Saturday’s demonstrations are set to be released in the evening.
Organisers claim the real number on previous weekends was double the figures estimated by police.
Far-right leader Florian Philippot, who has accused Macron of turning France into a dictatorship and likened the health pass to apartheid, was at the Paris rally on Saturday.
The government insists the pass is necessary to encourage vaccination uptake and avoid a fourth national lockdown, with the unvaccinated making up eight or nine out of every 10 Covid-19 patients admitted to hospital. – France24.com.
Online Reporter