French protest against 'health pass', as requirement extends to shopping centres

Emmanuel Macron sees these rules as the key to avoiding new lockdowns

Demonstrators protest against the compulsory vaccination health pass in Paris. Getty

Protests against French restrictions aimed at curtailing Covid-19 took place across the country on Saturday, for a fifth successive weekend.

Demonstrators have focused their anger on overturning the “health pass” introduced by President Emmanuel Macron to limit outbreaks as the country emerges from repeated lockdowns.

But protesters, a mix of the far-right, anti-inequality activists, anti-vaxxers and civil liberties campaigners, say the policy encroaches on basic freedoms.

On Monday, nine shopping centres and department stores in Paris will be among those added to a growing list of places where the health pass is required for entry.

The pass shows that a person has been fully vaccinated, has had Covid or has tested negative. Without it, people are barred from venues including cinemas, gyms and restaurants.

Mr Macron sees the health pass – which makes vaccination essential to enjoying routine activities like sitting in a cafe or travelling on a train – as the key to emerging from the pandemic.

“I detest the idea that the authorities can go as far as they like,” said Marie Huguet, a pensioner protesting in Paris.

Yann Fontaine, 30, who works in a notary office, said he believed the health pass is a measure that “kills freedom".

A protester holds a placard stating 'neither conspiracy theorists nor deniers' in western city Nantes. AFP

Other protests took place in cities, especially in the south, including Toulon, Montpellier, Nice, Marseille and Perpignan, where numbers have sometimes exceeded those in Paris.

About 237,000 people turned out last Saturday across France, including 17,000 in Paris, the interior ministry said. That figure exceeded the 204,000 recorded the weekend before.

The pass has already been required since July 21 to visit cultural venues such as cinemas, theatres and museums. Its extension was approved by France's Constitutional Council earlier this month.

Vaccination has gathered steam in France since the health pass plan was announced and the government wants 50 million people to have received at least one shot by the end of August.

The health pass has been credited as a reason for the increased vaccine take-up.

Last week, the government added shops of 20,000 square metres to venues requiring the health pass, if the regional Covid incident rate is high enough.

French pharmacists and ministers also demanded tighter security at coronavirus vaccination centres, after 22 were vandalised, mostly during weekend protests.