Anti-health pass demonstrations across France this Saturday
Sylvie Claire / August 14, 2021
Opponents of the health pass will take to the streets in France on Saturday for the fifth weekend in a row with more than 200 demonstrations planned, a few days after the device was introduced in most public places.
The authorities expect to see about 250,000 demonstrators marching throughout the country, a police source told AFP.
There were just over 237,000 last week, according to the Ministry of the Interior, more than double the number at the start of the movement in mid-July.
The protest attracts a diverse audience - families, apolitical first-time protesters, caregivers or uniformed firefighters - that goes beyond the anti-vaccine or conspiracy movement.
Apart from Paris, the most important processions are expected in the south, where Toulon, Montpellier, Nice, Marseille or Perpignan have imposed themselves as major centers of protest.
The demonstrators denounce a hindrance to their freedom, even a health dictatorship.
Since Monday, the health pass has been imposed in most public places. Bars, restaurants, cinemas, long-distance transport, museums or hospitals require this QR code which testifies to a complete vaccination against Covid-19, a negative test or a recovery from the disease.