France boils over as anti-vaccine protesters t ake to the streets again
FRENCH police and anti- vaccine demonstrators clashed last night as rallies took place in 150 towns and cities across the country for a second weekend in a row.
Protests in Paris turned violent following the Government’s decision to use new emergency Covid powers to mandate vaccine passports in public places.
Tear gas, baton charges and water cannons were deployed as a total of 160,000 people marched in French cities against President Em manuel Macron’s vaccine drive.
An emergency bill requiring a health pass for access to cafes, restaurants, shopping centres and transport was passed by parliament last week and will come into effect on Monday.
Many of the protests were organised by the Gilets Jaunes, or Yellow Vest movement. Named after their distinctive fluorescent jackets, they have been behind a series of riots in French cities over the past three years.
French police hinted that the protests have been co-opted by groups intent on causing damage. One officer at the scene suggested that the ‘illegal’ marches are being ‘joined by anarchist groups who are not directly linked to the protest’. Anti-vaccine health workers in white coats were also among those marching at the head of crowds of people today. Over the past month, anti-vaxxers have sent death threats to six MPs in Mr Macron’s En Marche (On The Move) party, and five vaccination centres have been vandalised. More than 47 per cent of t he French public has now been fully vaccinated. Those involved in the anti-vaccine movement include Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-Right National Rally party and a presidential candidate. She has called Mr Macron’s approach to the health emergency ‘brutal’ and a violation of individual rights. The far-Left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, of the France Unbowed party, has also taken up the anti-vaccination cause. In Australia, planned anti- lockdown protests failed to materialise after police used mounted officers, harsh fines and an exclusion zone to stop a repeat of the mass demonstrations seen in Sydney last month.