Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Macron’s vaccine passport is uniting French anti-fascists and nationalists

(Getty images)

Saturday was what is known in France as the Chassé-croisé, the busiest day of the year on the roads, when those who took their holidays in July return home and those who chose August depart. By lunchtime there were 625 miles of traffic jams on the roads. The thoroughfares of many cities were also blocked, but for another reason. For the third consecutive Saturday, thousands of people marched to protest against the introduction of the government’s Covid passport.

Almost a quarter of a million people took to the streets in 180 demonstrations, according to the government. These numbers are disputed by the organisers, who claim they are wildly conservative. But whatever the exact figure, it was a phenomenal number of demonstrators for the final weekend of July.

A fortnight ago, according to the government, approximately 114,000 marched; and last week it was 161,000. To break the 200,000 mark is an indication of how the protest movement is growing.

The demonstrators come from all cross-sections of society, and are overwhelmingly passive. The march I witnessed in Paris on Saturday featured an impressive array of fancy dress, dozens of children, a lot of dancing, and scores of placards relaying various messages, none of which were complimentary to president Macron. 

A troubling fissure is emerging between the generations in France

What was also notable was the low-key police presence. I saw none of the riot squad, only the regular Paris police, some of whom chatted happily to the demonstrators as they filed past.

Unfortunately the coverage in much of the British media has reflected none of this spirit. The headline on the Sky News website on Sunday morning was ‘Vaccine passport critics clash with police in Paris’. Underneath was a brief video clip of a few angry demonstrators confronting riot police at the Place de la Bastille.

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