From Toulon to Lille, demonstrations are planned for Saturday in more than 150 cities in France, against the extension of the health pass, and compulsory vaccination for caregivers, validated Thursday by the Constitutional Council.

These parades, for the fourth consecutive weekend, take place the day after a new pressing appeal launched by Emmanuel Macron - "get vaccinated" and while more than 44 million French people have received at least one dose (65, 9% of the population).

"Macron, your (health) pass, we don't want it," shouted a few hundred demonstrators in Paris on Thursday evening, after its validation by the Constitutional Council.

The law which extends the health pass to new public places and establishes a vaccination obligation for caregivers was published in the Official Journal on Friday.

From Monday, you will a priori have to present a vaccination certificate, a negative PCR test for Covid-19 or a certificate of recovery from the disease to have access to cafes and restaurants, theaters or trade fairs, or to take a long trip on a plane, train or coach.  

>> To read also: Extension of the health pass in France: what are our European neighbors doing?

In the processions, many say they refuse to be "the guinea pigs" of new vaccines.

But a good part of the demonstrators, sometimes vaccinated, demonstrate specifically against the imposition of the health pass which constitutes according to them a "disguised vaccination obligation" and establishes "a society of control".

The Interior Ministry had identified at least 204,000 demonstrators on July 31 (against 161,000 a week earlier).

"We expect the same number of demonstrators globally" this Saturday, forecasts a police source.

"It's a blow of the club", said Thursday evening the Parisian demonstrator Nejeh Ben Farhat, "yellow vest" of 42 years, about the decision of the Sages of the Constitutional Council who validated the main part of the health bill passed July 25 by Parliament.

"We have the impression that a large part of the population has accepted his fate," he lamented.

This telecoms technician presents himself as one of the organizers of the main Parisian event scheduled for Saturday from 11:00 am at the Pont de Neuilly metro station (Hauts-de-Seine), for a departure in the early afternoon to the center of Paris .

"This is the most risky event, including departures in wild processions. Particular attention will be paid to it," a police source told AFP, also referring to "vigilance" around the Champs-Élysées.

Three other gatherings are planned in Paris, where the police headquarters say they are expecting 10,000 demonstrators.

One of them takes place at the call of Florian Philippot, former number 2 of the RN and president of the Patriots, at 2:30 p.m. in front of the Military School (7th).

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan announced that he would be "alongside the French who are demonstrating to obtain the withdrawal" of the pass.

Perimeter in Lyon

Like last week, the crowd should be particularly strong in Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur, especially in Toulon, Montpellier and Nice.

In Marseille, a demonstration, declared in part only, will start at 2:00 p.m. from the Old Port at the call of SUD and firefighters.

In Lyon, two calls for demonstrations were declared for 2 p.m.

The prefecture has established a perimeter of prohibition of demonstrations in the hypercentre of Lyon from 12:00 to 21:00 "because of the violence that has occurred in recent weeks on the sidelines of illegal protest rallies".

A dozen events are planned in Hauts-de-France, Aube and Ardennes, notably in Lille, Abbeville, Reims or Dunkirk.

In Saint-Brieuc, the protest is divided into two gatherings, one at the call of organizations and left-wing parties (Attac, Confédération paysanne, EELV, LFI) as well as local "yellow vests", the other organized by the movement of Mr. Philippot and other radical right-wing formations.

In Toulouse - where the premises of the Order of Nurses had been vandalized, with in particular anti-health pass tags, on the night of Thursday to Friday - the demonstrators will also protest against the reform of unemployment insurance and that of pensions.

Last week, the demonstrations were sometimes punctuated by tense face-to-face meetings with the police and punctuated with insults or even insults towards the media.

In Montpellier, demonstrators attacked a pharmacist who was screening for Covid-19, some treating him as a "collaborator" and "an assassin".

With AFP

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