Thousands of people in France demonstrated against a special “health pass” and marched through Paris and other French cities on Saturday, with most protests being peaceful with a few sporadic clashes.
Some 3,000 security forces deployed around Paris for the third weekend of protests against the pass that will be required soon to enter restaurants and other places. The so-called “health pass” system—likened to vaccine passports—was passed in the French Parliament last week, with the law going into effect later this month on Aug. 9.
Meanwhile, a court in Berlin over the weekend declared that anti-lockdown protests were illegal, leading to arrests of demonstrators. Judges in the capital’s administrative court refused to authorize 13 demonstrations, DW reported, which were organized by an anti-lockdown group as organizers said that some 22,500 people registered to partake in protests.
Video footage and photos uploaded to Twitter showed that apparent anti-lockdown protesters were being arrested or corralled by officers on Saturday. A planned march planned for Sunday was also banned by the court, according to DW.
The German judges said the protests should be banned because, if not, they would facilitate the spread of COVID-19.
Berlin police spokesman Thilo Cablitz told reporters that the ruling targeted protests “whose participants regularly do not follow legal regulations, specifically to protect against infections,” including wearing a mask.
Source: The Epoch Times