More than 40,000 demonstrators (40,610) against the health pass were identified on Saturday by the Ministry of the Interior, which recorded 171 actions across the country for the fourteenth consecutive Saturday of mobilization.
Last Saturday, they were about 45,000 across the country according to the authorities, and more than 67,000 according to the militant collective Le Nombre Jaune, which is late publishing its own count.
The attendance in these processions and gatherings has been declining steadily for several weeks.
On September 25, 60,000 people protested against the health pass imposed by the government to counter the Covid-19 epidemic, according to the authorities' report.
Low mobilization of yellow vests
In Paris, 5,000 people demonstrated on Saturday, in four different processions, according to the ministry, while in Lyon, a parade brought together some 400 people in the 6th arrondissement, according to the prefecture.
In all, five people were arrested during rallies in France, including three in Paris.
According to Beauvau, no member of the police was injured.
The demonstration against the health pass joined the #GiletsJaunes at the Prés d'Arènes roundabout in #Montpellier.
The gendarmes are deployed.
(@Lemettantr) # Manifestation16october # GiletsJaunesSaison2 pic.twitter.com/32FJaqJ7mC
- Anonymous Citizen (@AnonymeCitoyen) October 16, 2021
This Saturday was also marked by a half-hearted return of yellow vests on roundabouts.
Nice, Saint-Brieuc, Orléans, Rennes and Caen… Desperate by the increases in the price of gasoline and energy, these die-hards are trying to revive popular mobilization, six months before the presidential election in April 2022. “No way to come back for a weekend or two.
The party will last a hundred weeks if necessary.
We are not tired ”, confided Maxime Nicolle, figure of the movement.
Possible use of the health pass until next summer
The bill extending until July 31 the possible use of the health pass was validated Wednesday in the Council of Ministers.
But the health pass will be "lifted as soon as we can," assured the government spokesman, Gabriel Attal, at the end of the Council.
The pass became mandatory on July 21 in places accommodating more than 50 people before being introduced in hospitals (except emergencies), bars and restaurants, then extended on August 30 to 1.8 million employees in contact with the public and end of September for 12-17 year olds.