Thousands oppose stricter French Covid pass

French authorities say more than 105,000 people have taken part in protests across the country against the introduction of a new coronavirus pass.

A new draft law would in effect ban unvaccinated people from public life.

Demonstrators in the capital, Paris, held placards emblazoned with phrases like "no to vaccine passes".

Interior Ministry officials said 34 people were arrested and some 10 police officers were injured after the protests turned violent in some places.

The bill, which passed its first reading in the lower house of France's parliament on Thursday, would remove the option of showing a negative Covid-19 test to gain access to a host of public venues.

Instead, people would have to be fully vaccinated to visit a range of spaces, including bars and restaurants.

The government says it expects the new rules to come into force on 15 January, although the opposition-dominated Senate could delay the process.

But demonstrators on Saturday accused the government of trampling on their freedoms and treating citizens unequally.

Others targeted their anger at the president, Emmanuel Macron, over comments he made earlier this week in relation to unvaccinated citizens, telling Le Parisian newspaper that he wanted to "piss them off".

One protester, hospital administrator Virginie Houget, told the Reuters news agency that Mr Macron's remarks were "the last straw".

 

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/thousands-oppose-stricter-french-covid-pass/ar-AASzL2W?ocid=BingNewsSearch

 

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