Thousands of people once again took to the streets of many cities in France to demonstrate against the health pass this Saturday, a few days after the start of the school year and the launch of a vaccination campaign for those over 12 years old. In Paris, where five rallies are scheduled, demonstrators began to march from the foot of the Eiffel Tower to the Invalides, at the call of the Patriots movement of Florian Philippot. “Macron, your pass we do not want”, “Liberty, freedom”, resume the demonstrators. Along the way, some call customers in bars and restaurants “collaborators” and hiss at them.
Composed of 500 people, most of them unmasked, another procession, made up of “yellow vests”, parades through the city center, between the Stock Exchange and the Royal Palace. “Health terror, I will not submit,” says one of the many signs. According to an Odoxa Backbone consulting study, published Thursday by Le Figaro, 67% of French people approve of the health pass, which the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron has not excluded from extending beyond November 15.
Between 130,000 and 170,000 demonstrators expected
In Marseille, thousands of people left the Old Port, the vast majority without a mask, under a bright sun and with a lot of French flags. “8th Saturday” as noted by a lady on a sign adding to the felt: “It’s always no to the health pass […]. No to discrimination. No to bullying: freedom ”.
They were also 7,000 in Montpellier, 3,700 in Lyon divided into two processions, 2,900 in Nice, 2,700 in Lille, 2,400 in Nantes, depending on the prefecture, and 700 in Saint-Nazaire. In Rennes, there were 1,500 demonstrators (2,000 last week), according to the prefecture, where, among the signs, we could read “Injection mRNA, solution for depopulation? “.
In Bordeaux, they were 2,900 “at the height” of the demonstration, according to the prefecture, 1,500 in Besançon and 2,200 in Strasbourg, in the midst of numerous French flags and several Phrygian caps. “We are going to be fired on September 15, I find that totally unfair. We save lives, we are there for the population, and we find ourselves arrested, we no longer have the right to work just because the president decided that we had to be put aside, ”said Norbert, a firefighter. 45-year-old who refused to give his name.
For the 8th consecutive Saturday, demonstrations are planned in more than 200 cities in France. The authorities expect “between 130,000 and 170,000” demonstrators, including “17,000 to 27,000” people in Paris, said a police source.