PARIS (Dispatches) – Clashes between protesters against health passes and the police continue in Paris, with law enforcement using tear gas against demonstrators, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
Clashes broke out on Saturday again at Boulevard Poissonniere in the second arrondissement of the French capital. Protesters threw bottles, trash, and chairs at policemen, who used gas in response to these provocations.
The demonstration marks the ninth straight weekend of protests.
In July, President Emmanuel Macron announced a number of restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19, including the mandatory use of health passes — indicating either immunity against COVID-19 or a negative PCR test - in bars, restaurants, planes, and long-distance trains starting from August.
The move caused widespread consternation in French society, with protests against the measure rocking the country every other week. Last Saturday, a total of 160,000 voiced their objections across France.
The developments come as former French health minister Agnes Buzyn has been indicted for “endangering the lives of others” as part of an ongoing investigation into the COVID-19 crisis in the country, Le Parisien newspaper reported Friday.
The investigation into the mishandling of the pandemic in France was opened in July of 2020.
Buzyn, who served as the country’s health minister from May 2017 to February 2020, was summoned to appear in front of the judges on Friday.
The hearing was conducted in the Law Court of the Republic, a special court which deals with complaints against serving or former ministers.
The ex-minister has been accused of “voluntarily abstaining from fighting a disaster” and “putting the lives of others at risk”, the daily added.
Current French Health Minister Olivier Veran is reportedly also expected to be summoned by the same judges in the coming weeks.