Police called on to tighten security at French Covid centres after attacks

Vandalism has occurred during protests against government’s health pass laws

The sign, held by a protester in Paris, reads, 'Our freedom is dying'. AFP

French pharmacists and ministers have demanded tighter security at coronavirus vaccination centres after 22 were vandalised during a series of anti-restriction protests.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin sent a letter to senior local officials in which he urged French police to mobilise and ensure better protection for vaccine centres.

The vandalism occurred over the course of several of weekends, mostly during protests against the government’s new health pass laws. Protesters are set to take to the streets for a fifth consecutive weekend on Saturday.

There have been 22 acts of vandalism against testing and vaccination centres as well as pharmacies since July 12, the Interior Ministry said. It added that about 60 threats had also been recorded.

In a letter to health workers, Health Minister Olivier Veran said several medical professionals had been attacked.

“In recent weeks, while once again responding to the call to vaccinate the population and to increase our testing capacity in order to curb the epidemic, several of our professionals have been cowardly attacked for doing their job,” Mr Veran wrote.

“I will not accept any violence, intimidation, attack on their physical integrity or their professional tools,” he added. “To attack our health professionals is to attack the nation.”

In mid-July, a vaccination centre in Lans-en-Vercors in south-east France was flooded using a hosepipe, causing damage to equipment.

Slogans such as “vaccinations are the new genocide” were found daubed on the walls. Others were sprayed with swastikas or graffiti reading “collaborators”, “Nazi” or “genocide”.

In Toulouse last weekend, a piece of paper was found at a vaccination centre stating that “one day, this will all be blown up".

Demonstrations have cropped up in recent weeks against the new health pass, a document required to attend most public venues that shows the holder is either fully vaccinated, has tested negative for Covid-19 or has recovered from the disease.

Protesters claim the health pass is a threat to personal and civil liberties, and their ranks include anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists.

The government believes the health pass will help ramp up the demand for vaccinations.

This month, the National Order of Pharmacists condemned a “sudden outburst of violence” against its members.

“They have been taken to task, been insulted, had their [vaccine] tents vandalised and have had their [pharmacies] burnt down,” it said in a statement.