01 Aug 2021; AA: For the third week in a row, anti-vaccine and anti-health pass demonstrations continued in France amid rising COVID-19 infection rates.
Saturday’s protests, according to the Interior Ministry, saw an estimated 184 rallies with 204,090 demonstrators across the country, a figure higher than the previous weeks.
In Paris alone, where at least four rallies were held, nearly 14,250 people marched to oppose the new health restrictions in public and social places introduced by the government for the unvaccinated people. At least 19 people were arrested including 10 in Paris, the ministry said.
The developments of increasing participation in the anti-health measures come in the backdrop of the government’s warning of a fourth wave and rising virus cases across the country. There were 23,471 new cases and 43 related deaths in the last 24 hours.
In Marseille, angry protesters attacked journalists from France 3 and BFMTV whereas in Paris two AFP reporters filming the rallies were targeted with insults and spitting, according to reports by BFMTV news.
At other places, protesters threw objects, stones at the police force and tried to light fires in trash cans. In return, police fired tear gas and water cannons at the crowd to disperse them.
