IN PICTURES: 140,000 turn out for fresh protest against France's health pass
Just over 140,000 people protested against France's Covid health pass system across France on Saturday, a decrease on the number that took to the streets the previous weekend.
A total of 141,655 people, including 18,425 à Paris, demonstrated against the health pass for the eighth consecutive Saturday, according to the interior ministry.
On Saturday evening, the ministry had logged 215 protest actions, including five in Paris. Twenty-one people were arrested and one police officer suffered minor injuries.
Tensions were high at the Forum Des Halles shopping centre in Châtelet, Paris as protesters forced their way in, defying the ban on access to shopping centres without a health pass as shown in this tweet by Le Figaro journalist Clément Lanot.
[embed]https://twitter.com/ClementLanot/status/1434169470810050564[/embed]
The BRAV-M, the motorised violent action repression brigade, were unsuccessful in getting the demonstrators out of the building and were forced to withdraw, Le Figaro reported.
Falling numbers
Numbers have been falling in recent weeks, according to ministry figures. Last week, 160,000 people took to the streets in total, however, the number protesting in Paris - 14,500 - was higher.
Two weeks ago, protesters numbered around 175,000 and 215,000 three weeks earlier.
Despite the ongoing protests, a study carried out by French daily Le Figaro showed that 67 percent of French people actually approve of the health pass, which President Emmanuel Macron could extend beyond November 15th.
The controversial pass obliges people to have proof of vaccination or a recent negative test to have access to cafes, cinemas and many other facilities.
A man dressed up as Jesus Christ and holding a cross reading "Do not crucify our children" stands in front of the Eiffel Tower during a demonstration called by French nationalist party "Les Patriotes" (The Patriots) leader Florian Philippot in Paris. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)
Protesters walk through the Passage Pommeraye in Nantes, western France, on September 4th, 2021. (Photo by Sebastien SALOM-GOMIS / AFP)
Medics tend to a man who was injured during a fight between far right and far left protesters in the Passage Pommeraye on the sidelines of a demonstration against the mandatory Covid-19 health pass to access most of the public space, in Nantes. (Photo by Sebastien SALOM-GOMIS / AFP)
A man sprays paint on a poster bearing portraits of French health Minister Olivier Veran and French doctor Didier Raoult in Nantes. (Photo by Sebastien SALOM-GOMIS / AFP)
A man holds a placard reading "Elected people, traitors of my trust. Unworthy of the position" in Nantes. (Photo by Sebastien SALOM-GOMIS / AFP)
A protestor sticks a poster reading "The police has become autonomous" on a police car. (Photo by Sebastien SALOM-GOMIS / AFP)
Demonstrators hold a banner reading 'Bistros, cafes, restaurants: monitoring [health passes] is not our job' in Nantes. (Photo by Sebastien SALOM-GOMIS / AFP)
A woman wearing a yellow vest and speaking in a loud hailer, holds a placard reading 'The media is the virus, fight for freedom like you fought for toilet paper' in Paris. (Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP)
A masked demonstrator holds a placard reading 'No to opacity and corruption for contracts (L) and No to secrecy and lies for vaccines (R)' in Paris. (Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP)
READ ALSO: Turnout, aims and support: 5 things to know about France's anti-health pass protests
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A total of 141,655 people, including 18,425 à Paris, demonstrated against the health pass for the eighth consecutive Saturday, according to the interior ministry.
On Saturday evening, the ministry had logged 215 protest actions, including five in Paris. Twenty-one people were arrested and one police officer suffered minor injuries.
Tensions were high at the Forum Des Halles shopping centre in Châtelet, Paris as protesters forced their way in, defying the ban on access to shopping centres without a health pass as shown in this tweet by Le Figaro journalist Clément Lanot.
[embed]https://twitter.com/ClementLanot/status/1434169470810050564[/embed]
The BRAV-M, the motorised violent action repression brigade, were unsuccessful in getting the demonstrators out of the building and were forced to withdraw, Le Figaro reported.
Falling numbers
Numbers have been falling in recent weeks, according to ministry figures. Last week, 160,000 people took to the streets in total, however, the number protesting in Paris - 14,500 - was higher.
Two weeks ago, protesters numbered around 175,000 and 215,000 three weeks earlier.
Despite the ongoing protests, a study carried out by French daily Le Figaro showed that 67 percent of French people actually approve of the health pass, which President Emmanuel Macron could extend beyond November 15th.
The controversial pass obliges people to have proof of vaccination or a recent negative test to have access to cafes, cinemas and many other facilities.
READ ALSO: Turnout, aims and support: 5 things to know about France's anti-health pass protests
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