Nearly 48,000 people participated in demonstrations against the coronavirus health passes held across France on Saturday, La Depeche newspaper reported citing the French Interior Ministry.

Around 5,000 people protested in Paris alone on Saturday, which was the 12th consecutive Saturday of demonstrations against the health passes, La Depeche said, adding that the number of protesters has been steadily declining.

Last Saturday, around 64,000 people protested across France, with 7,200 demonstrators gathered in Paris.

In July, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a series of new restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19, including the special health pass indicating that a person has either been vaccinated or has a negative test result for COVID-19. Before that, the health pass was already required in museums, theatres, movies and all public events attended by over fifty people.

Starting August 9, the pass became mandatory in restaurants, bars, shopping centres, airplanes and long-distance trains.

The move caused widespread discontent among the French, and protests against the measure have been held every weekend since.