Thousands protest against COVID-19 health pass in France Thousands of people protested in Paris and other French cities on Saturday against a mandatory coronavirus health pass for entry to a wide array of public venues, introduced by the government. Protesters injured three police officers in Paris, a police spokesperson said. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that 19 demonstrators were arrested, including 10 in Paris. It was the third weekend in a row that people opposed to President Emmanuel Macron’s new COVID-19 measures have taken to the streets, an unusual show of determination at a time of year when many people are focused on taking their summer break. The number of demonstrators has grown steadily since the start of the protests, echoing the "yellow vest" movement, that started in late 2018 against fuel taxes and the cost of living. An interior ministry official said 204,090 had demonstrated across France, including 14,250 in Paris alone. This is about 40,000 more than last week. "We're creating a segregated society and I think it is unbelievable to be doing this in the country of human rights," said Anne, a teacher who was demonstrating in Paris. She declined to give her last name. "So I took to the streets; I have never protested before in my life. I think our freedom is in danger." Visitors going to museums, cinemas or swimming pools are already denied entry if they cannot produce the health pass showing they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have had a recent negative test. Parliament approved a new law this week that will make vaccinations mandatory for health workers and extend the health pass requirement to bars, restaurants, trade shows, trains and hospitals. About 3,000 police officers were deployed in the capital, with anti-riot officers striving to keep demonstrators on authorised routes. Authorities sought to avoid a repeat of events last week, when scuffles between police and demonstrators broke out on the Champs-Elysees. Protesters were also out in other cities like Marseille, Lyon, Montpelier, Nantes and Toulouse, shouting "Freedom!" and "No to the health pass!" https://www.reuters.com/article/us-h...-idUKKBN2F10M8 This is an indicator that France is a little more totalitarian in its mindset concerning personal liberties than many other developed countries. But at the same time there is a paradox because the French also have a spirit of entitlement and demanding liberty.
...how do you figure that... one assumes its a transient thing whilst this bug is under control....204,090 French protesters is a normal Friday afternoon in France isn't it...I mean if they're not protesting about COVID then its some other rent-a-mob thing....wages....prices....wine shortages.....garlic famine..... I'll take this seriously when the air traffic controllers go out on strike....when that happens you know the French are pissed off about something small ...isn't that the normal amount of Police by the red statue outside Gare du Nord?
Agreed. These idiots shouting freedom freedom don't realize that they live in a freedom paradise! They should be offered an extended holiday in Belarus, where they wouldn't be allowed to shout anything. And, BTW, the pass they loath makes it possible to open a lot of places that would otherwise be kept closed.
This is not exactly how they are perceived in Europe. But maybe they are overcompensating that complex. Regarding the "protests" fashion that has become a worldwide phenomenon, including in the USA, I'd say that many people are incapable to cope, albeit for a short period of time, with anything they don't like. All that fuss about lockdowns, masks and social distancing is mostly the result of lax education producing weak characters.
I'm European and I perceive them that way. I lived in France with a former French girlfriend and the favourite pastime of the French is ridiculing people. I know that Americans share that trait but that's another story. I have had individual people try to cheat me all around the world but only in France have I been cheated by banks, large companies, airlines, and car rentals. I will never do business with the French ever again. I think the French see protest rallies like free rock concerts - something exciting to do ... and if they are lucky they might see a fistfight so the French can cheer them on. The Italians like to live in chaos, the French like to observe chaos.
They tend to criticize and complain about everything when they're in France; but once they're outside France, nothing is as good as in France. If that's what you call an inferiority complex, then I agree with you. I agree: you'll allways find a sizeable portion of the French people who are against whatever they're being told or proposed and ready to march "from Republique to Bastille". If you raise the subject loud enough, they would march against the next "full moon". PS. As for the Italians, chaos is in of their DNA; it's constitutive of their Ethos.
Many worry that this is not just going to be a short transient thing but rather is going to stretch on a for a while and become semi-permanent.
There are many more threatening things to worry about, like climate change. We can take care of Covid, if we really want to: we have the protection measures, we have the vaccines, and now some promising medication. The real danger in that respect comes from the deniers and the anti-vaxers.
Or how about France eventually turning into a Third World country, that will be more like some place in the Middle East than what most people have in mind when we think Europe. (There's lots of stuff that goes on on a daily basis in the Middle East that would be unimaginable to most people in Europe; most people are so naive and ignorant about this) In my personal opinion you have your priorities all mixed up. It's almost like some doomsday Millenarian religion; climate change and the virus/vaccine. Penning all your hopes on certain key issues to "save humanity". Must fight by any means necessary. Communism was like a religion too, so I suppose it's not terribly surprising. I think maybe we can look at places like Greece or Venezuela to see what lies in France's future. The people will riot in the streets that the government can't solve the problems. Even though those problems were caused by the exact same mentality that those same people support.
Where is that "France eventually turning into a Third World country" coming from? And comparing Greece to Venezuela is just hilarious. For the rest, I could hardly follow your meandering complaints.
If there are vaccine passports, they should be limited to just the surrounding Paris region. The problem is that the government of France runs the whole country as if the entire nation lived in Paris.
You couldn't figure it out on your own? Seems like the answer should have been obvious. Big city, much higher population densities, people closer together, more like to be commuting together. Need I go on? That and choice, if people really don't like it they could just leave.
I think he's of the impression that viruses (or their potency) are limited by geographical boundaries such as "city limits". Alternatively, he has no idea what a "passport" is.
Black and white has nothing to do with it. Not from my point of view anyway. It looks to me that you are the black and white one. Why don't you explain what you actually mean? Or do you really have an explanation? If you do then don't blame me that you've misrepresented yourself.
Vaccine mandate type of policies, if they do make a difference, would make much more of a difference in big city areas. Therefore if any compromise were reached, or we were trying to look for a more "reasonable" middle ground policy, then it would seem to make more sense to only apply the controversial policy in just the areas where it would be most effective. On top of that, statistically the people in those high population density areas would be more likely to support such policies than those outside. While it is true that we don't know if implementing these policies in only the big city areas would be enough to get rid of the virus, it is also very true that we do not know if implementing these policies across the entire country would be enough to get rid of the virus. I claimed your thinking was "black and white" because you seemed to act like not having the policies across the entire country would be nearly useless, and having the policies across the country would be extremely effective by comparison. I don't think that really is logically borne out, if we apply some thought to this. Of course I did not mean to say that "viruses are limited by geographic boundaries like city limits", but it is true that enacting policies in some areas will have some effect in all areas, is it not?
