Massive protests continue in France against the Coronavirus vaccine passport.

 

Some of the protesters in France. Reuters.

Massive protests continue in France against the Coronavirus vaccine passports that were voted into law. Reuters. Protesters' skirmished with police who fired tear gas after a motorcycle was tipped over. France said 161,000 people had demonstrated across the country, compared to 110,000 last weekend. France's Covid passport system would require a vaccine to participate in most aspects of civil life, including travel and employment. 

France 🇫🇷 Rally attendees have taken over a City Hall and thrown a portrait of Macron out the window. No one condones destruction, but Clearly the French have had a gutful. Long Live Freedom 💥👊 pic.twitter.com/zMPGVbK4PS

— 𝙇𝙏𝙍𝙉8 𝙀𝙉𝘿𝙉 (@ATLEASTDIETRYN) July 24, 2021

France 🇫🇷 Anti WAX Passport Rally 💥 These crowds are simply Epic, it's now crystal clear, the resentment is building, people are done. Can't be far off now, finally the Tipping Point is near. Long Live the People 💥👊 pic.twitter.com/CtoDrpVlbi

— 𝙇𝙏𝙍𝙉8 𝙀𝙉𝘿𝙉 (@ATLEASTDIETRYN) July 24, 2021

My Comment:

A quick update to a previous story.  I certainly appears that the French people are rejecting the idea of Coronavirus passports. Though France has a long history of protesting for almost any reason, these protests appear to be larger and sustained. I'd also say that the French numbers are probably low, it sure looked like more than 161,000 people in Paris alone. 

As I said in my first post on this subject, I think the French are right to protest here. Taking the vaccine is a personal choice and doing so is not the right call for everyone. For some it's not worth the risk, for others there is a religious exemption and others just don't want to do it. Those decisions are personal and the government has no right to demand their people take a vaccine they don't want to take. 

And even people that have taken the vaccine should be disgusted with the erosions of civil rights here. The choice of having to take an experimental vaccine or being completely shut out of public life is not one that the government gets to make. Period. I got vaccinated myself but I know if I was in France I wouldn't cooperate with France's vaccine passport and I would be out there protesting with the rest of these people. 

France is hardly the only country where protests against Coronavirus policy is happening. Today there were rallies in Italy, Australia and the UK. People are sick of heavy handed governments doing whatever they want when it comes to the virus. Sure the virus is dangerous and is destroying lives but the governments are doing worse than that. People are furious that they can't just let go of the power they have taken. 

Will such protests happen here? It's very possible. I posted earlier this week that Biden is considering a new mask mandate. That will certainly go over like a lead balloon if it comes to pass. The country has largely rejected vaccine passports but I still fear something like that is coming and if it does I am almost certain we will have a large new protest movement here in the United States as well.