PARIS – More than 120,000 people demonstrated across France yesterday, according to official figures, to protest against coronavirus health passes that they say discriminate against the unvaccinated.
The health pass, or a recent negative Covid-19 test, is required to enter cafes, restaurants and many other public places.
The Interior Ministry said 121,000 demonstrated nationwide, 19,000 of them in the capital here, where police arrested 85 after clashes broke out.
Three cops sustained minor injuries, it added.
It is the ninth consecutive weekend of rallies.
Officials put last weekend’s turnout across France at 140,000, and early last month, an estimated 237,000 protesters marched.
Yesterday’s protests came a day after former health minister Agnes Buzyn was charged over her handling of the pandemic, after investigators at a special court here concluded that there are grounds to prosecute her.
Buzyn, formerly a doctor, was charged with “endangering the lives of others”. – AFP, September 12, 2021
