Written by Will Hekman<\/p>\n
Both right-wing and left-wing groups protested separately in multiple cities against the French government’s new measures to get people vaccinated to slow down infection rates. Protests were in the cities of Paris, Strasbourg, Lille, and Montpellier. In Paris, recently announced presidential candidate Florian Philippot led the protest to the Louvre, with protesters chanting \u201cMacron, clear off!\u201d Philippot is a former member of the Front National and is currently a member of Les Patriotes or \u201cThe Patriots\u201d which he founded back in 2017.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Philippot has organized smaller protests against the French government\u2019s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, but Saturday\u2019s protest in Paris attracted a new, diverse crowd all with a different reason to protest. Among the protesters were members of the yellow vests there to protest economic injustices and anti-government individuals who were protesting the belief that the government has overstepped its boundaries. In Montpellier, over 1,000 people protested in the streets chanting \u201cLiberty\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n The main entrance to the city was closed off to travelers because of the protests. About 114,000 people participated in protests across France according to the Interior Ministry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The main reason for protesting was to denounce and reject the requirement of a \u201chealth pass\u201d. The \u201chealth pass\u201d proves that an individual is either fully vaccinated or has tested negative. The \u201chealth pass\u201d will allow people to access areas such as restaurants and other public spaces. This proposal is eerily similar to the \u201cvaccine passports\u201d proposed by some in the United States and in England.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0Photo via Florent Moreau\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Written by Will Hekman Both right-wing and left-wing groups protested separately in multiple cities against the French government’s new measures to get people vaccinated to slow down infection rates. Protests were in the cities of Paris, Strasbourg, Lille, and Montpellier. In Paris, recently announced presidential candidate Florian Philippot led the protest to the Louvre, with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n