The mobilization against the health pass continues to crumble. The Interior Ministry counted 40,610 demonstrators, and 171 actions, Saturday, October 16, for the fourteenth consecutive Saturday. A week earlier, Place Beauvau had 45,000, while Le Nombre Jaune, which belatedly publishes its own count, counted more than 67,000.
In Paris, some 5,000 people demonstrated on October 16, in four different processions, according to the ministry. In Lyon (Rhône), in particular, a parade brought together some 400 people in the 6th arrondissement, according to the prefecture. In all, five people were arrested during rallies in France, including three in Paris. No member of the security forces was injured, according to the Interior Ministry.
The attendance in these processions and gatherings has been declining steadily for several weeks. On September 25, 60,000 people protested against the health pass. The number of demonstrators reached a peak (237,000 people) on Saturday August 7, the day before the expansion of the health pass to cultural places, restaurants or trains, on August 9.
The Council of Ministers validated, Wednesday, the bill extending until July 31, 2022 the possible use of the health pass. This denier will be “lifted as soon as we can”, assured Gabriel Attal, the government spokesperson. But the executive must “keep braking measures available”, he argued, insisting on the possibility of an epidemic resumption.
The pass became mandatory on July 21 in places accommodating more than 50 people before being introduced in hospitals (except emergencies), bars and restaurants, then extended on August 30 to 1.8 million employees in contact with the public and end of September for 12-17 year olds.