Demonstrators hit French streets to fight new vaccine pass

PARIS • Thousands of people have protested in cities across France against tighter curbs on people not vaccinated against Covid-19, as parliamentary wrangling continued over the draft law.

In the capital Paris, the largest single gathering set off from near the Eiffel Tower on Saturday, called by fringe anti-EU presidential candidate Florian Philippot. Other rallies harked back to the 2018-19 "yellow jackets" protests against President Emmanuel Macron's perceived favouring of the wealthy, while there were further gatherings in major cities like Bordeaux, Toulouse and Lille.

People in the crowd chanted "no to the vaccine" or "freedom for Djokovic", seizing on the case of world tennis No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who was detained and had his visa to Australia twice revoked ahead of this week's Australian Open.

In Paris, demonstrators carried French and regional flags, with banners bearing messages like "It's not the virus they want to control, it's you".

"It's Nazism, it's apartheid, I haven't been jabbed and I'm against vaccines in general," said 60-something demonstrator Claire.

Two others told Agence France-Presse they were vaccinated "but we're against the (health) pass for teenagers, we don't see why they're being vaccinated because they aren't in danger".

While officials had not published an estimate of nationwide turnout by late afternoon, the police or local authorities counted around 1,000 each in Lyon, Nantes, Bordeaux and Marseille.

Demonstrators were hoping to outstrip the 105,000 who hit the streets last weekend - some possibly mobilised by Mr Macron's declaration in a newspaper interview that he wanted to "piss off" the unvaccinated with new curbs until they accepted a vaccine shot.

In the first step, a measure came into force on Saturday that will deactivate the government-issued "health pass" for tens of thousands of people who have not received a booster vaccination within seven months of their first course of shots.

The pass - which grants access to public spaces like bars and restaurants - will be transformed into a "vaccine pass" under a law currently being debated in Parliament, meaning proof of having the jab will be required.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Austria, thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Vienna on Saturday to protest against government plans to introduce mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for all next month.

"The government must go!" the crowds chanted at one rally in central Vienna in what has become a routine Saturday event. Parliament is scheduled to vote this week on the issue, which has polarised the country as coronavirus cases surge.

Last November, the government announced a fourth national lockdown and said it would make vaccinations compulsory for all Austrians, the first European Union country to do so.

A poll for Profil magazine found 51 per cent of those surveyed oppose making jabs mandatory from February, of whom 34 per cent were against compulsory vaccination in general and 17 per cent wanted to wait.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS