Attempts by the French government to browbeat the populace into being jabbed against coronavirus are bearing very mixed results, as witnessed by the large turnout by protesters against the Health Pass across the country on Saturday, July 31.
Even by official estimates more than 200,000 people took to the streets in several cities, far above the earlier estimate of 150,000 turning out during the holiday period. Among the slogans being shouted were “I am not a guinea pig,” and the optimistic “boycott the places that demand a health pass.”
In Paris there were several violent clashes between riot police and marchers, with tear gas being fired as a first resort by the famously combative CRS officers in attempts to disperse the marchers, the vast majority of whom were peaceful.
In Nice, the official estimate was 6,500 marchers, up from 6,000 the week previously.
Meanwhile, the number of French citizens jabbed with at least the first dose has reached more than 60 percent, as many people decide to go along with the vaccination program because not to do so could mean losing their jobs or living a very restricted social life.
The government’s stated approach is maximum persuasion without compulsion.
PHOTO: Protesters march in Paris Reuters
