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Thousands of protesters in Paris were greeted with water cannons as protests against a new privacy law drew larger crowds eager to voice their complaints about coronavirus restrictions and the slow launch of the vaccine in France.
Riot police were deployed by the canyon to clear the Place de la Republique in the center of the capital, just before 6 p.m. local time, when the curfew begins every day.
The protest began peacefully, but when the sun set, tempers on both sides of the police cordons erupted.
Police broke up protests in Paris before curfew at 6pm. Photo: AP
Sky’s Europe correspondent Adam Parsons, reporting from the scene, said that “for a few hours, it was a very good-natured affair, almost like a festival,” as a march of around 6,000 people unhappy with a proposal from surveillance law culminated in the place. de la Republique.
The surveillance law restricts people’s ability to post photos of law enforcement officers online, which activists say will reduce the responsibility of the police.
But Parsons said the demonstrations “became a kind of calling card for all manner of grievances, including discontent with how the French government has handled the pandemic and the launch of the vaccine.”
That also included new rules announced Friday evening on travels and movements inside and outside France.
Shopping centers are closed, the police are ordered to intensify controls and the country’s borders are closed.
This is in addition to a 12 hour curfew from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
These measures were introduced to avoid a possible third total lockdown, something that the country’s scientific advisers said last week would be necessary from February.
France, as in other parts of Europe, is trying to deal with the revelation that the the number of vaccine doses delivered to the European Union will be less than expected due to production issues.
The resulting dispute with AstraZeneca has left the EU and its constituent countries in a delicate position after days roundtrip between the pharmaceutical giant and its customers.
French president Emmanuel macron He then made unsubstantiated claims that the company’s vaccine, which was developed in conjunction with the University of Oxford, was not effective in people over 65.
His comments were questioned by scientists before the vaccine was administered. Regulatory approval by the European Medicines Regulator.
Water cannons were used to clear the protesters. Photo: AP
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According to the Johns Hopkins University global tracker, France has had 3,236,685 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 76,006 deaths.
The latest figures from France show that they have distributed just 1.45 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, compared with the 8,378,940 first hits deployed in the UK.
An opinion poll conducted showed that more than three-quarters of the French think a third lockdown is now inevitable, and the research also shows a drop in confidence in the government’s handling of the pandemic.
There are also general elections in just over 12 months, with Macron set for another battle with the far-right leader. Marine Le Pen.
