New protests across France against stricter Covid measures

Resentment over stricter Covid-19 rules in France has driven many people onto the streets for the fifth weekend in a row.

The authorities expected a total of around 250,000 demonstrators nationwide on Saturday, more than twice the number attending the protests when they began in mid-July.

The participants' anger is directed against compulsory vaccinations for health workers and strict new rules about who can enter various institutions.

People must present a health passport when going to restaurants or cinemas, travelling by long-distance train and, in some places, when entering shopping centres.

The passport provides proof of vaccination, proof of recovery from the virus or a negative test result. As coronavirus tests will no longer be free of charge from mid-October, government critics complain of vaccine being made obligatory through the back door.

The protests began peacefully on Saturday. On the BFMTV channel, many national flags could be seen waving above the crowd in Paris, as well as the rainbow flag.

In Aix-en-Provence, demonstrators chanted "Liberte!" ("Freedom!") and in Lyon a man held up a sign to the camera that read, "Let's save our children from Pfizer!"

The demonstrations attract people with a wide range of attitudes, political scientist Jean-Yves Camus told dpa. Among them, he said, were supporters of the extreme right, conspiracy theorists and members of the "yellow vests" movement, which originally formed to protest fuel price increases.