France arrested 71 people at Saturday protests against the introduction of sanitary measures on COVID-19
Law enforcement officers in France detained 71 people during protests against sanitary measures, which took place on Saturday across the country, according to the LCI TV channel, citing the Ministry of the Interior.
At the same time, as the TV channel notes, 24 of the total number were detained in Paris. In addition, 27 police officers and two gendarmes were injured during the protests.
On Saturday, BFMTV reported that more than 160,000 people took part in protests against the introduction of sanitary passes throughout France. According to official data, in Paris, the number of demonstrators was 11 thousand. In a number of cities, the actions were accompanied by riots.
On July 12, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a series of new restrictive measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. In particular, according to the statements of the French leader, from the beginning of August in France, restaurants, bars, shopping centers, airplanes and long-distance trains will require a sanitary pass indicating vaccination or a negative test result for COVID-19.
From July 21, a sanitary pass is required when visiting museums, theaters, cinemas, festivals, performances, amusement parks. Also, the head of the French republic announced the introduction of compulsory vaccination for doctors in France and all those working in hospitals and nursing homes. Following the statements of the French President, a corresponding bill was prepared, which spelled out new restrictive measures. The document was approved by the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) of France and submitted to the Senate for consideration.