Several demonstrations by anti-mask activists are taking place tomorrow in France. A test for this movement which has been gaining momentum for a month but still remains very marginal.
The anti-masks want to make it their “act 1”. Saturday, they meet in several cities of France to mark their opposition to the wearing of the mask, while the orders multiply in several municipalities to make it compulsory even outside. The most important of them should take place in Paris. On Facebook, several events call for a static gathering at Place de la Nation from 1 p.m.: just over a thousand Internet users say they are interested.
Among the two Facebook events which call to converge on Paris, one is organized by yellow vests, the other takes up arguments dear to the movement: “Today, with gags and distancing, we would like to deprive us of contact, of exchange and reunion between humans, between fellow citizens, write the organizers. Today the single thought of the power in place would like to impose on us a new way of living, of thinking, of working, of enjoying, of dying … and this, without asking ourselves if we agree to it of course. […] Everyone here will agree that our democracy no longer works! “
The “compulsory anti-mask” group is expanding
On the Facebook group “compulsory anti-mask” [nearly 9,000 members], the opponents are organizing. Other gatherings are expected elsewhere in France, especially in Caen, Lyon and Annecy, “not to mention small gatherings in front of town halls in smaller municipalities and villages”, explains to JDD Angélique F., moderator of the Facebook group and organizer of the rally in Caen. “We want a return to normal life: take the train, do our shopping, get around, do our normal activities,” she explains.
According to her, the anti-mask grumbling “starts to rise but remains minimal”. “When I joined the Facebook group on July 14th following the President’s announcements, we were 85! Today, the number of members has been multiplied by 100,” she says with satisfaction.
And despite the resurgence of the epidemic observed in recent weeks, the anti-masks do not intend to give up: “People can no longer take it, it is this government which is irresponsible to impose the mask on us”, continues Angélique F., arguing that “the virus has become harmless”, which no scientific study has confirmed. France recorded just over 6,000 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday.
A large gathering expected in Germany
Despite the downpours that should befall Berlin, Saturday promises to be hot in the German capital. Several thousand coronasceptics should manifest there. A ban was first enacted by local authorities before being lifted by German justice. These protesters, a mixture of anti-vaccine activists, conspirators but above all supporters of far-right movements, question the health measures put in place by the government, which they describe as “a dictatorial hygienist regime”.
Organizers, who have chartered buses from across the country, hope to bring together 22,000 people, as many as in the August 1st parade which degenerated into violent clashes. On social networks, one of the slogans of some small groups can be summed up in “devastating Berlin”. To avoid such a situation, several thousand police will be deployed in the city. The AfD, the populist and nationalist party, called for a rally at the Brandenburg Gate to denounce the ban and the mobilization of the police. For several weeks, Germany has experienced a rise in Covid cases even if it remains in smaller proportions than its European neighbours. Angela Merkel warned on Friday that it was to be expected that the pandemic would evolve “
