Marseille, Montpellier, Strasbourg ... Update on the demonstrations in France against the health pass

Demonstrations are taking place this Saturday in many cities in France against the extension of the health pass and in the name of "freedom", for the third consecutive Saturday.

The authorities predicted the mobilization of 150,000 people.

Last Saturday, the demonstrations had gathered 161,000 people and 110,000 a week earlier.

Read alsoFollow the events in our direct

In Paris, the first event started from the Villiers metro station (17th century) at 2 p.m. in the direction of Place de la Bastille (11th century).

Shortly before 3 p.m., some tensions with the police enameled the procession near the Moulin-Rouge.

Another demonstration started after 2:30 p.m. near the Montparnasse station (6th district), at the call of the former n ° 2 of the FN and president of the Patriots Florian Philippot.

Wearing many flags "blue white red" or a torn European flag, the demonstrators, without masks for the most part, headed for the Ministry of Health (7th).

More than 3,000 police and gendarmes are mobilized to supervise the demonstrators and secure sensitive places, a week after demonstrators were pushed back from the Champs-Élysées, access to which was blocked this Saturday.

Events in more than 150 cities in France

Events are also planned in more than 150 cities in France, with a potentially large crowd in Toulon, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Metz, Nantes and Pau.

In

Marseille

, thousands of demonstrators gathered in the Old Port.

They then reassembled the famous Canebière with placards and slogans hostile to the new government measures.

In

Montpellier

, the demonstration brought together 8,500 people, according to the prefecture, a figure that has risen sharply compared to 5,500 a week ago. The protesters gathered on the Place de la Comédie, between the steps of the Opera and the fountain of the three Graces on which some climbed to cries of "Freedom" and singing one of the favorite songs of the opponents of President Emmanuel Macron: "We are there, we are there, even if Macron does not want ...".

Stronger mobilization also in

Nice

, where 6,500 people marched according to the police.

That's 500 more than last week.

In

Aix-en-Provence

, more than 2,200 people demonstrated in the city center on Saturday morning and 3,000 people gathered in

Avignon

, capital of Vaucluse, at the beginning of the afternoon without incident, according to the police.

In total, in the south-east of the country, more than 20,000 demonstrators have been identified.

In

Strasbourg

, 3,200 people, according to the police, marched in the city center, without overflows and in the presence of the former LREM deputy Martine Wonner.

In

Metz

, the organizers say that 3,000 people are present at the demonstration against the health pass, reports France Bleu.

Grouped around the hashtags # manif31juillet and #PassDeLaHonte on social networks, opposition to government measures federates anti-health, anti-vaccine or anti-containment protesters, with protean demands.

In the processions, there are also many yellow vests.

The health pass was adopted definitively on Sunday evening, after six days of heated debates in Parliament.

Read also Anti-health pass demonstrations: the new sling of the yellow vests

Already applied in cultural and leisure venues since July 21, its extension to cafes, fairs, exhibitions, restaurants and trains is scheduled for August 9.

In the meantime, the Constitutional Council will render its decision on the law on August 5.

New containments are put in place this weekend in Martinique and Reunion, two territories where vaccination coverage is low and the incidence rate is increasing sharply. In Reunion, two processions gathered thousands of demonstrators on Saturday, including one marked by exchanges of stones and tear gas in Saint-Denis. The first three patients hospitalized due to Covid-19 in Martinique, where hospital services are saturated, must be transferred to Paris on Saturday by a medical flight.

Among the French who support the rallies, 65% justify their support by "the impression of being imposed on what they must do, of not having a choice". According to another Ipsos-Sopra Steria poll for Franceinfo and Le Parisien on July 16, 62% of French people said they were in favor of the health pass to enter public places and 69% of compulsory vaccination for caregivers.