Paris and COVID pass
Protesters marched in Paris, France, for the 9th straightweekend, protesting France´s government-mandatedhealth pass that is required to enter cinemas, restaurants, gyms, and museums.
The government introduced the measure to slow the spread of COVID-19; however, protesters repeatedly said that the system unfairly restricted the unvaccinated. Under the COVID pass system, introduced in stages since mid-July, anyone wishing to enter a restaurant, theater, cinema, long-distance train, or large shopping center must show proof of vaccination or a negative test.
The government insists that the pass is necessary to encourage more vaccinations and to avoid a fourth national lockdown, with the unvaccinated accounting for most of the COVID-19 patients in hospital.
More than 250,000 people marched on previous weekends, claiming that the vaccine wasn´t the solution. Some people refused to get their children vaccinated just days before the start of the new school year. An 11-year-old boy who marched with his father said that he wasn´t a laboratory rat.
Difficult words: straight (through a long time or distance), mandated (official authority to carry out a policy or task), account (to be the important factor).