According to the interior ministry, more than 100,000 people demonstrated in Paris and throughout France, Saturday January 8, at the end of a week marked by the statements of Emmanuel Macron, who announced his intention to“Piss off” the unvaccinated and while the Senate will consider, from Monday, the bill establishing a vaccination pass.
“A monumental failure”
It is 3 p.m., the procession sets off # manif8janvier https://t.co/li00RYWfpo
In Paris, more than 18,000 demonstrations were counted by the police. From 2 p.m., several thousand people gathered at the call of Florian Philippot (Les Patriotes) on the Place du Palais-Royal, to go in the direction of the Place Vauban. Mr. Philippot said he expected “The government gives up, that it withdraws this crazy law”. He also wished that “Macron apologizes to the French after the dirty and divisive remarks he made.”
In the procession of the demonstration, Bruno Attal, national secretary of the angry France Police-Policiers union, explained: “We are here to piss off the thugs and delinquents, not the citizens who have become“ sub-citizens ”. The orders, we will apply them, but today we support. “
“We have a special message for all resilient caregivers who are prevented from working”, “Macron, your mask, we don’t want it, Castex, your pass, we don’t want it”, could be heard over the microphone of the truck in the parade.
# manif8janvier https://t.co/qG7F9Ui0M3 https://t.co/fvKUy52iZ4
“Let the labs tell us the truth”
Patrice, 56, came from the Parisian suburbs to express his dissatisfaction. “I am fed up with these restrictions which are not justified because Omicron is not lethal, he explained. These are just political measures. We were not born last rain. I am not an antivax, I am against the pass, which is only a way of controlling. I am super peaceful and I am not behind Philippot. “ For him, it would be necessary “Total transparency on side effects, I will not get vaccinated”. The also added need “That the labs tell us the truth”.
“There were other choices than just the vaccine. Why has nothing been done for the hospital during these years?, wondered an executive of a banking company, 60 years old, unvaccinated and voter of Jean-Luc Mélenchon in 2017. Instead, we finance laboratories that produce vaccines, it is absurd. Our politicians are no longer credible. They sail on sight, it is a social, economic and democratic catastrophe. “
Students abroad, Sophia, Gaspard and Pierre returned to their parents because their universities have closed. These three Parisians came to join the procession. “I am protesting because what is happening today is shameful, it is an abuse of authority from A to Z”, reacted Sophia. They inquire about TrialSiteNews because they believe that “Mainstream media only show a small portion of people.” For Sophia, “It’s too easy to film and interview extremists and conspirators. Understand that young people have the right and the desire to form their own idea and that that does not make us irresponsible or conspiratorial “, she added. Government decisions “Are not suitable for young people”, Pierre said. “We are waiting for a strategy that is not all vaccine. There are so many things to do rather than annoying young people, like reforming the hospital system for example. ”
With his wife and his megaphone, Hervé came today from Yvelines to claim “The truth about vaccine dose variability”. “There are too many unanswered questions, the 55-year-old trade unionist worried. How to consent freely? Many French people have been vaccinated reluctantly. (…) There is lie after lie. I no longer trust anyone today. The truth is intentionally hidden. Everything weighs on everything. There is nothing that works normally, you end up becoming a conspirator. I don’t know what will happen with the elections. “
When they arrived at their destination, Place Vauban, thousands of people gathered around 5.30 p.m. to listen to Florian Philippot. The former adviser to Marine Le Pen said on the scene that “Nicolas Dupont-Aignan should have been there, and that he is part of the sacred union”. “The moment Macron made his filthy remarks, he ceased to be head of state, he disqualified himself forever, he resumed. In doing so, Macron was guilty of high treason, and I am weighing my words. And he will answer for it in the face of history. “
Incidents and tear gas in Montpellier
In Montpellier, the demonstration against the sanitary pass, which brought together 3,700 people, according to the prefecture, was punctuated by clashes and incidents. According to the police, a small group degraded the front door of the Saint-Roch station, which had to be closed for a few minutes, then demonstrators tried to climb over the gates of the prefecture. Tear gas was thrown by the police several times in the afternoon, in the streets crowded with passers-by. At the end of the afternoon, the gendarmes tried to evacuate the Place de la Préfecture, forcibly pushing the demonstrators down one of the stairs in this place, creating a crowd movement.
In Toulouse, the prefecture counted 2,200 demonstrators, and several incidents. Four arrests took place, in particular for “Projectile throws” and “Contempt of a person holding public authority”, announced the prefecture of Haute-Garonne, which specifies that“Around forty tear gas means were used”.
In Lyon, a small crowd of demonstrators of all ages and little masked gathered in a good-natured atmosphere on Place Bellecour, in the city center. Among them, some “yellow vests”, tricolor flags and a red from the CGT. Another gathering of less than 200 people stood nearby, with a banner ” Against the « covictature ». Ni cobaye ni antivax ».
In Bordeaux, between 500 and 1,000 people, according to the police, demonstrated despite the rain under the cries of « Macron, on t’emmerde », in a route along the quays of the Garonne and the vast Place des Quinconces. A Bordeaux protester, not vaccinated against Covid-19 “But not anti-vaccine”, said scroll “For the first time in his life” because the words of the President of the Republic have “Broke the camel’s back”.
In the east, 1,250 demonstrators marched in Colmar and 1,900 in Mulhouse, according to the Haut-Rhin prefecture. They were 1,500 in Strasbourg, according to the Bas-Rhin prefecture. The demonstrators were about 500 in Dijon, 650 in Saint-Etienne, nearly 500 in Puy-en-Velay, according to the authorities, figures in clear increase compared to previous mobilizations.
Call for teachers’ strike Thursday
In France, nearly 303,700 new cases and 143 deaths have been recorded in the past twenty-four hours, according to figures released on Saturday by Public health France. The start of the school year has been under tension since Monday with the Omicron variant, framed by a new health protocol which requires the multiplication of tests.
Denouncing “An indescribable mess” and “A strong feeling of abandonment and anger among the staff”, the SNUipp-FSU on Friday launched a call for a national strike for Thursday, January 13 in order to“Obtain the conditions of a secure school under Omicron”. He was joined by most of the other teachers’ unions, SE-UNSA, SNES-FSU, Snalc, CGT-Educ’action, SUD-Education and Force Ouvrière.