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PROTESTS

Tens of thousands protest against Macron’s health pass in France

More than 100,000 people protested in France on Saturday, sparking clashes with police as they railed against Covid-19 measures and government sanctions against the unvaccinated aimed at prodding more people into getting jabs.

Published: 25 July 2021 02:02 CEST
Tens of thousands protest against Macron's health pass in France
French activist Jean-Baptiste Redde also known as Voltuan holds a sign reading "Macron, Véran, Castex are killing our freedom" during a demonstration against the compulsory vaccination for certain workers and the mandatory use of the health pass called by the French government, in Paris on July 24th, 2021. Since July 21st, people wanting to go in most public spaces in France have to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative test. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

In France, where police deployed teargas and water cannon against some protesters, an estimated 160,000 took to the streets in nationwide protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s health pass that will drastically curtail access to restaurants and public spaces for unvaccinated people.

“Freedom, freedom”, chanted demonstrators in France, carrying placards denouncing “Macron, Tyrant”, “Big Pharma shackles freedom” or saying “No to
the pass of shame”.

Demonstrators hold up placards and banners, one of which reads as ‘Macron = Treason’ during a protest against the vaccination and the compulsory health pass called for by the French government, in Toulouse, southwestern France, on July 24th, 2021. (Photo by Fred SCHEIBER / AFP)

The demonstrations highlight the conflict between people caught between the advice of the World Health Organisation and other public health agencies and the need to earn a living — or simply to return to a pre-pandemic lifestyle.

In Indonesia and the UK, governments have pressed ahead with easing of restrictions even in the face of surging case numbers.
   
In France, as elsewhere in Europe, the government is making it harder for reluctant citizens to put off getting the jabs.

Legislation now being considered by lawmakers will make vaccinations compulsory for certain professions, while the controversial health pass will severely restrict social life for holdouts from the end of July.

A mask of French President Emmanuel Macron with “liar, manipulator” written on it is displayed during a demonstration against the compulsory vaccination for certain workers in Paris on July 24th, 2021. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

There were signs the tougher measures announced on July 13th were having the desired effect: 48 percent of the population were fully vaccinated as of Friday, up eight percentage points from July 10.

While more than three-quarters of French people backed Macron’s measures, according to a July 13th Elabe poll for BFMTV, a sizeable and vocal minority do not.

Elodie, 34, a care assistant at a Strasbourg nursing home, denounced “the blackmail of caregivers who were at the front line” during the first wave and who are now threatened” with “no more pay” and even being fired.

“They’ve been lying to us since the beginning,” she said.

Protests also took place in Italy, with protesters gathering in Rome to demonstrate against a mandatory “green pass” for indoor dining and entertainment.

Member comments

  1. It’s refreshing to see even the dimwits having a day out. At least they got the opportunity to spread the virus even more.

    1. As I understand it, the vaccine doesn’t prevent transmission or catching the disease but gives a better outcome if you do catch it.

          2. Presuming that isn’t in jest… Why? Once fully-vaccinated, the likelihood of catching the disease is significantly reduced; and, as you yourself have said, if you do catch it once vaccinated, it’s usually mild. Combined with masking and social distancing, the risk of catching it then becomes quite low.

  2. Good to see France also has its share of conspiracy theorists. Social media has a lot to answer for.

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PROTESTS

Two dead and hundreds hurt in New Caledonia unrest: France

Two people have been killed and hundreds more injured, shops were looted and public buildings torched during a second night of rioting in New Caledonia, as anger over constitutional reforms from Paris boiled over.

Published: 15 May 2024 09:00 CEST
Two dead and hundreds hurt in New Caledonia unrest: France

What began as pro-independence demonstrations has spiralled into three days of the worst violence seen on the French Pacific archipelago since the 1980s.

Despite heavily armed security forces fanning out across the capital Noumea, and the ordering of a nighttime curfew, rioting continued overnight virtually unabated.

Hundreds of people including “around 100” police and gendarmes have been injured in the unrest, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in Paris.

One person had been shot dead overnight but authorities were yet to establish the circumstances that led to the incident, Darmanin said, adding that dozens of homes and businesses had been torched.

The office of the High Commissioner, France’s top representative in New Caledonia, later Wednesday reported a second death in the riots, without giving any details of the circumstances.

President Emmanual Macron cancelled a planned domestic trip and moved Wednesday’s regular cabinet meeting to hold a crisis meeting with key ministers on New Caledonia, his office said.

In Noumea and the commune of Paita there were reports of several exchanges of fire between civil defence groups and rioters.

Streets in the capital were pocked by the shells of burned-out cars and buildings, including a sports store and a large concrete climbing wall.

“Numerous arsons and pillaging of shops, infrastructure and public buildings – including primary and secondary schools – were carried out,” said the High Commission.

Security forces had managed to regain control of Noumea’s prison, which holds about 50 inmates, after an uprising and escape attempt by prisoners, it said in a statement.

Police have arrested more than 130 people since the riots broke out Monday night, with dozens placed in detention to face court hearings, the commission said.

A night-time curfew was extended, along with bans on gatherings, the carrying of weapons and the sale of alcohol.

La Tontouta International Airport remained closed to commercial flights.

As rioters took to the streets, France’s lower house of parliament 17,000 kilometres (10,600 miles) away voted in favour of a constitutional change bitterly opposed by indigenous Kanaks.

The reform – which must still be approved by a joint sitting of both houses of the French parliament – would give a vote to people who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years.

Pro-independence forces say it would dilute the share of the vote held by Kanaks, the Indigenous group that makes up about 41 percent of the population and the major force in the pro-independence movement.

Macron urged calm in a letter to the territory’s representatives, calling on them to “unambiguously condemn” the “disgraceful and unacceptable” violence.

Macron said French lawmakers would vote to definitively adopt the constitutional change by the end of June unless New Caledonia’s opposing sides agree on a new text that “takes into account the progress made and everyone’s aspirations”.

The French leader has been seeking to reassert his country’s importance in the Pacific region, where China and the United States are vying for influence.

Lying between Australia and Fiji, New Caledonia is one of several French territories spanning the globe from the Caribbean and Indian Ocean to the Pacific in the post-colonial era.

In the Noumea Accord of 1998, France vowed to gradually give more political power to the Pacific island territory of nearly 300,000 people.

As part of the agreement, New Caledonia has held three referendums over its ties with France, all rejecting independence.

But the independence movement retains support, particularly among the Indigenous Kanak people.

The Noumea Accord has also meant that New Caledonia’s voter lists have not been updated since 1998 – depriving island residents who arrived from mainland France or elsewhere since then of a vote in provincial polls.

A New Caledonia pro-independence leader, Daniel Goa, asked people to “go home”, and condemned the looting.

But “the unrest of the last 24 hours reveals the determination of our young people to no longer let France take control of them,” he added.

The main figure of the anti-independence camp, former minister Sonia Backes, denounced what she described as anti-white racism of demonstrators who burned down the house of her father, a man in his 70s who was evacuated by the security forces.

“If he was not attacked because he was my father, he was at least attacked because he was white,” she told France’s BFM TV.

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