Police fire tear gas at protesters against French Covid-19 passport rules

French police used tear gas on Wednesday 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. 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. 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, cafe