June 17, 2020

Anna Murray 

Large crowds gathered in parks across France on June 16 before moving through the city streets and many were waving the French flag. In Paris, more than 18,000 people attended demonstrations, many demonstrators wearing white medical coats, marched peacefully through the Left Bank. 

But, as the crowd reached the gold-domed Invalides monument, some protesters overturned a car and threw paving stones, police fired tear gas at rioters, reportedly from the far-left anarchist group known as Black Blocs, to disperse hundreds of masked protesters.

According to data released from Johns Hopkins University, the number of deaths from coronavirus infection has reached 29,439 on June 16. Although French President Emmanuel Macron has announced bonuses for healthcare staff who have worked through the coronavirus crisis, demonstrators demanded a major boost in investment in the French healthcare system.