Police in Paris fired tear gas and made arrests as they tried to disperse demonstrators, many of them sceptical of vaccines, the so-called “anti-vaxxers“, who marched throughout France over new coronavirus restrictions, writes Al Jazeera.

Some of the protests began as early as Wednesday morning in Paris as the annual military parade for the traditional Bastille Day parade, watched by President Emmanuel Macron, was taking place along the Champs-Elysees.

The protests went on into Wednesday night, with protesters captured on video clips posted on social media, also aiming fireworks at police.

The demonstrators, many of them unmasked, are unhappy at the decision announced on Monday to oblige health workers to get vaccinated and for people to show a vaccine health pass to enter most public places. Those who are not vaccinated would need to show a negative test result.

The announcement prompted a record number of French people to book appointments for COVID-19 jabs.

“This is in the name of freedom”, - was the message from some of the protesters.