France: antipass convoys on the Champs-Élysées

Some went to the Champs-Elysées to disrupt traffic, others marched in the authorized demonstrations, but the participants in the anti-pass convoys, which left from all over France, did not block Paris as they wanted.

The French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, indicated on Saturday evening in a tweet that 337 people had been fined and 54 arrested by the police in Paris.

A heterogeneous gathering of opponents of President Emmanuel Macron, the vaccine pass and "yellow vests", those who call themselves "freedom convoys" were formed on the model of the mobilization which paralyzes the Canadian capital Ottawa.

A vehicle from the convoy of vaccine pass opponents on the Champs Elysees in Paris, February 12, 2022 Sameer Al-DOUMY AFP

Canada: the police mobilized on a border bridge

The establishment of the state of emergency did not deter them: the anti-sanitary measures demonstrators were still thousands on Saturday in the streets of Ottawa and continued to block a strategic border bridge with the United States despite the intervention of the font.

For the first time since the start of the movement, the police took up position in large numbers near one of the hot spots of the dispute: the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor in Ontario to the American city of Detroit.

The day before, the Superior Court of Ontario had ordered the departure of the demonstrators who had been there for five days.

Anti-restriction convoy in The Hague

Opponents of health restrictions who came to protest in convoys from all over the Netherlands left the city center of The Hague on Saturday after blocking it for several hours, according to the police.

“Protesters who blocked The Hague city center today with trucks, among other things, have now left the city,” said local police, who had ordered participants to leave the scene before 3:30 p.m., threatening them of an arrest and a fine.

Australia: demonstration against vaccination

Some 10,000 demonstrators, according to the police, marched in the Australian capital Canberra on Saturday towards Parliament to denounce the obligation to vaccinate against Covid-19.

Protesters march through the Australian capital Canberra towards Parliament to denounce the obligation to vaccinate against Covid-19, February 12, 2022 STR AFP

Vaccination is not compulsory but required to enter the country and to work in a series of professions considered to be at risk, such as the care of the elderly.

China: Pfizer anti-covid pill authorized

In China, the National Medicines Agency on Saturday "conditionally" authorized the Pfizer pill to treat Covid, in a country where foreign vaccines remain awaiting a green light.

Like other countries, the pill will be reserved for patients at risk of developing a serious form of the disease.

Norway: end of restrictions

Norway lifted its latest anti-Covid restrictions on Saturday by removing social distancing instructions and the wearing of masks in crowded spaces, despite a spike in infections with the Omicron variant.

Iceland: Positive Prime Minister

Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir has tested positive, infected by a family member, she wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday.

Nearly 5.8 million dead

The pandemic has officially killed more than 5,799,910 people worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP on Saturday at 11:00 GMT.

Covid-19: developments in the world AFP

The United States is the country with the most deaths (919,171), ahead of Brazil (638,048) and India (507,981).

The WHO estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher than that officially established.

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© 2022 AFP