PARIS -- Thousands of people marched in Paris and other French cities Saturday for a fourth consecutive week of protests against the covid-19 health passes that everyone in the country will need shortly to enter cafes, trains and other venues.
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The demonstrations came two days after France's Constitutional Council upheld most provisions of a new law that expands the locations where health passes are needed to enter.
Starting Monday, the pass will be required in France to access cafes, restaurants, long-distance travel and, in some cases, hospitals. It was already in place for cultural and recreational venues, including cinemas, concert halls, sports arenas and theme parks with a capacity for more than 50 people.
With French riot police on guard, a largely peaceful crowd walked across Paris carrying banners that read: "Our freedoms are dying" and "Vaccine: Don't touch our kids." Some were also upset that the government has made covid-19 vaccines mandatory for health care workers by Sept. 15.
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Dozens of street protests took place in other French cities as well, including Marseille, Nice and Lille. The French Interior ministry said there were 237,000 protesters nationwide, including 17,000 in Paris.
Opponents say the virus pass limits their mobility and implicitly renders vaccines obligatory.
Polls, however, show that most people in France support the health passes, which prove that people are vaccinated, have had a negative recent test or have recovered from covid-19.
Muriel, 55, a Parisian who declined to give her last name, said she especially protests "the disguised mandatory vaccination ... it's an incredible blow to our fundamental freedoms."
A separate protest organized by far-right politician Florian Philippot gathered thousands near the Health Ministry in central Paris. Many held French flags and called for French President Emmanuel Macron to resign.
"Here, you don't have covid, but you have rage!" Philippot told the crowd, calling for a boycott of places requiring the pass.
France is registering over 21,000 new confirmed virus cases daily, a steep climb from a month ago. More than 112,000 people with the virus in France have died since the pandemic began.
Over 36 million people in France -- about 54% of the population -- are fully vaccinated. At least 7 million have gotten their first vaccine shot since Macron announced the health pass requirement on July 12.
A growing number of European countries have implemented virus passes, each with different rules.
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Italy's "Green Pass" took effect Friday. Denmark pioneered vaccine passes with little resistance. In Austria, the pass is needed to enter restaurants, theaters, hotels, sports facilities and hairdressers. In Germany, anti-virus pass protests in Berlin led to some violent clashes with police.
RESIGNATION DEMAND
Thai riot police on Saturday fired water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to repel a crowd of several hundred young anti-government protesters who marched on an army base where Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has his residence to demand his resignation.
The demonstrators threw rocks, bottles and fireworks and fired slingshots during the hourslong confrontation in the Din Daeng area of Bangkok, which was obscured by swirling smoke.
The rally was led by the Free Youth, a student protest group that drew tens of thousands to its protests last year. It's demanding Prayuth's resignation over his handling of the coronavirus crisis, which has seen the number of cases spiraling and the health care system stretched to the limit. Prayuth has been criticized for a slow vaccination program.
Thailand reported a new high of 21,838 confirmed cases Saturday, with 212 more deaths. Bangkok and surrounding provinces have been under lockdown, including overnight curfew, for weeks.
According to the city's Erawan Medical Center emergency services, five people were hospitalized, including three police officers. The march was called off in the early evening but disturbances continued, with protesters battling the police and hurling objects.
RISING CASES
A number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region are being overwhelmed by their biggest coronavirus waves in months, as outbreaks fueled by the delta variant race through populations with relatively low vaccination levels.
Australia recorded the most new cases since last August, the vast majority in the populous state of New South Wales, where a weekslong lockdown has failed to stem an outbreak that began in the Sydney area. The state reported 319 new infections and five deaths, and the state health minister, Brad Hazzard, said that the delta variant was spreading to new parts of the state in part because residents were continuing to socialize in groups in defiance of stay-at-home rules.
"You're not expected to go to a party, you're not expected to go to a gathering," he told a news conference Saturday. "That is absolutely not what you're supposed to be doing."
While vaccinations are rising in Australia, less than one-fifth of the population is fully vaccinated, one of the lowest rates among wealthy countries.
Malaysia reported 20,889 new cases Friday, its third consecutive day of record numbers. The health minister warned against easing restrictions, a day after the prime minister pledged to relax them for vaccinated individuals. Just over 25% of the population is fully vaccinated.
In the Philippines, the health ministry recorded more than 11,000 new infections, the highest daily total since April. The capital, Manila, on Friday imposed a two-week lockdown in the surrounding area, affecting some 13 million residents.
But with less than 10% of that country fully vaccinated, the lockdown prompted a race for shots Thursday before it went into effect at midnight. Crowds jammed vaccination sites across Manila, and police were deployed to enforce social distancing.
Information for this article was contributed by Arno Pedram and Oleg Cetinic of The Associated Press and by Shashank Bengali of The New York Times.