French Capital Sees 11th Weekend Of Protests Against COVID-19 Passes

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published September 26, 2021 | 12:50 AM

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th September, 2021) Protesters against mandatory COVID-19 passes took to the streets of Paris for an 11th consecutive Saturday, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The demonstrators gathered near the Gare de Lyon railroad terminal in the city's 12th district and marched across Paris to the Sacre-Coeur basilica on the Montmartre hill.

The procession was shadowed by police officers.

A separate protest, organized by Florian Philippot, the leader of the right-wing Patriots party, started at the Place de Barcelone square in the 16th district.

According to the BFMTV broadcaster, some 64,000 people took part in almost 200 protests against COVID-19 passes on Saturday nationwide, with 7,200 in Paris alone.

In July, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a series of new restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19, including a special health pass indicating that a person has either been vaccinated or has a negative test result.

The pass is required in museums, theaters, restaurants, bars, shopping centers, as well as on planes and long-distance trains.

The move caused widespread consternation in French society, with protests against the measure rocking the country every week, although the number of protesters is steadily going down.