Police fired tear gas at protesters in Paris amid fierce clashes at demonstrations against COVID vaccine passports.
Protesters marched on the French capital to voice their displeasure at the introduction of vaccine passes starting on 9 August.
Legislation was passed on Wednesday to require a proof of vaccination, recent recovery from the disease, or a negative test for a variety of scenarios.
Image: Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Paris. Pic: AP
This includes eating at cafes, getting on trains or boarding a plane.
At least four marches took place in Paris on Saturday, as well as a number of other protests around the country.
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Previous demonstrations have been against the proposal of restrictions, and other steps the government has taken to try and control the pandemic.
Image: Some think the vaccine passports infringe on their liberty. Pic: AP
It comes as France faces a spike in coronavirus cases, with the delta variant now taking hold.
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Many of those demonstrating against vaccine passes say they are a violation of their liberty.
Around 3,000 members of the security forces have been deployed to Paris this weekend, with many stationed on the Champs-Elysees to prevent the famous avenue from being overrun.
Some parts of the capital saw muted protests, but tempers flared in other areas.
Image: A number of the demonstrations were peaceful. Pic: AP
Outside the famous Moulin Rouge club, riot police threw punches to disperse violent protesters, and tear gas was launched into crowds.
More than 24,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in France on Friday – this compares to just a few thousand per day at the start of July.
Image: Police arrested a number of protesters. Pic: AP
According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, 72,887,307 vaccine doses have been administered in France, with 31,841,857 people – 47.48% of adults – fully inoculated.
The government is trying to encourage people to get jabbed, after a slow start to the rollout.
Three British men are being held in Taliban custody in Afghanistan – including so-called “danger tourist” Miles Routledge who returned to the country after being evacuated by British armed forces less than two years ago.
The other two men are charity medic Kevin Cornwell and another unnamed UK national who manages a hotel in Kabul. They are believed to have been held by Taliban secret police since January.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: “We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families.”
Mr Routledge, 23, has gained fame – and attracted controversy – by travelling to dangerous countries and posting about it online.
In August 2021 he was on a “holiday” in Afghanistan when he was caught up in the chaos in the capital as the Taliban took control of the country.
He chose the war-torn country having looked up a list of the most dangerous places to visit in the world, despite the Taliban taking control of more and more of the country at the time.
Mr Cornwell, 53, was arrested at his hotel by officers from the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) on 11 January.
He is accused of having an illegal firearm in the safe in his room, but his family say he had been granted a licence for the firearm.
The FCDO continues to advise UK citizens against all travel to Afghanistan based on the security risks involved, including the possibility of detention by the Taliban authorities.
Two women in Iran who went into a store while not fully covering their hair had yoghurt thrown over them by a man, in an incident captured on video.
CCTV footage showing the “yoghurt attack”, believed to have taken place in the city of Shandiz in northeast Iran, has been spreading on social media.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi insisted that the hijab is the law in the country, in response to the widely shared clip.
It shows a man in a chequered shirt getting increasingly animated as he speaks to one of the women.
He is then seen grabbing a pot of what is believed to be yoghurt and throwing it over the pair before being confronted by another man and pushed out of the store.
Following the incident, the two women have been arrested for not covering their hair, according to judicial authorities.
The man has also been arrested for insulting the women, public disorder and “unconventional promotion of virtue”.
Authorities said the owner of the dairy shop, who confronted the attacker, had also been warned.
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Reports on social media showed his shop had been shut, although he was quoted by a local news agency as saying he had been allowed to reopen and was due to “give explanations” to a court.
President Raisi said: “If some people say they don’t believe [in the hijab]… it’s good to use persuasion…
“But the important point is that there is a legal requirement… and the hijab is today a legal matter.”
Women in Iran had already been warned by the regime’s judiciary chief that they will be prosecuted “without mercy” if they are seen in public without a veil.
Following protests in recent months, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Saturday: “Unveiling is tantamount to enmity with [our] values.
“Those who commit such anomalous acts will be punished and will be prosecuted without mercy.”
Iran has been rocked by huge waves of protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in September.
The 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman died while in the custody of Iran’s morality police.
Women will be prosecuted “without mercy” if they are seen in public without a veil, Iran’s judiciary chief has warned.
Following protests in recent months, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Saturday: “Unveiling is tantamount to enmity with [our] values.
“Those who commit such anomalous acts will be punished and will be prosecuted without mercy.”
He did not specify what the punishment would be, but violations of state laws on hijabs have seen people face arrest, fines, imprisonment and even the death sentence.
Women across the country have been refusing to wear their headscarves following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September.
Ms Amini had been arrested for allegedly breaking the law on headscarves and died in police custody.
Image: Mahsa Amini’s death sparked protests in Iran
Nationwide street protests were met with a severe police crackdown.
Human Rights Activists, a group that has been tracking the crackdown from inside Iran, has reported more than 19,700 people being arrested during the demonstrations.
Another group, Iran Human Rights (IHR) estimates that 500 of them, including 70 minors, were killed by the regime.
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Previously, Mr Ejei said that 22,000 people arrested during recent protests have now been pardoned.
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Iranian women have now moved their fight online, with many posting videos of themselves with their hair and bodies exposed.
Under Iran’s Islamic Sharia law, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes to disguise their figures.
Describing the veil as “one of the civilisational foundations of the Iranian nation” and “one of the practical principles of the Islamic Republic,” the interior ministry said in a statement on Thursday that there would be no “retreat or tolerance” on the issue.
The authorities are encouraging people to confront women who break hijab laws – something that has previously seen religious extremists physically attack them in public.