Demonstrators hold up banners and placard, one of which reads as "No to Health Pass" outside the Constitutional court in Paris on August 5, 2021. © AFP / Stephane de Sakutin

Paris, August 6 (RHC)-- Reinvigorated mass protests kicked off in the French capital shortly after the country’s top court upheld controversial legislation which makes a coronavirus ‘health pass’ mandatory for the general public.

Hundreds of protesters marched through the streets of Paris on Thursday, heading towards the Constitutional Court.  The judicial body ruled on the COVID legislation package earlier in the day.

The court rejected some parts of the proposed law, including a provision allowing French authorities to enforce mandatory quarantine on any person who tested positive for the virus. However, the court upheld the most of the legislation, including the compulsory vaccination of caregivers and the ‘health pass’, as constitutional.

A large crowd of protesters gathered outside the court, expressing their anger over the ruling. The court itself was cordoned off, with a heavy police presence in the area, as shown in footage from the scene shared on social media.

The protesters chanted various slogans, including “Macron, we don’t want your pass,” referring to one of the most-criticized provisions of the law.  The legislation, expected to be enacted on Monday, is set to make the so-called ‘health passes’ mandatory in France, barring anyone without them from restaurants, bars and other public venues.