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French police quell protest against COVID health passport rules

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A supporter of French nationalist party Les Patriotes (The Patriots) holds a placard during a protest against government's economic and social policies during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Paris, France April 10,2021. The placard reads 'No to the health passport'. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

Dozens of French police used tear gas to disperse a protest against President Emmanuel Macron's plan to require a COVID-19 vaccine certificate or negative PCR test to gain entry to bars, restaurants and cinemas from next month, write Christian Lowe and Richard Lough, Reuters.

Macron this week announced sweeping measures to fight a rapid surge in new coronavirus infections, including the mandatory vaccination of health workers and new health pass rules for the wider public.

In doing so, he went further than most other European nations have done as the highly contagious Delta variant fans a new wave of cases, and other governments are watching carefully to see how the French public responds. (Graphic on global cases).

The police stepped in shortly after scores of protesters marched down a boulevard in central Paris on Wednesday without permission from the Paris authorities. Some wore badges saying "No to the health pass".

A Reuters witness saw a column of police vans and riot police blocked off one street.

Some critics of Macron's plan - which will require shopping malls, cafes, bars and restaurants to check the health passes of all patrons from August - accuse the president of trampling on freedoms and discriminating against those who do not want the COVID shot.

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Macron says the vaccine is the best way to put France back on the path to normalcy and that he is encouraging as many people as possible to get inoculated.

Wednesday's protest took place on Bastille Day, the anniversary of the 1789 storming of a medieval fortress in Paris which marked the turning point in the French Revolution.

Among other proposals in the government's draft bill is the mandatory isolation for 10 days of anyone who tests positive, with police making random checks, French media reported. The prime minister's office did not respond when asked to confirm the detail.

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