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      <div class="header reader-header reader-show-element"> <a

          class="domain reader-domain"

href="https://www.rt.com/news/530095-hospital-strike-france-mandatory-vaccine/">rt.com</a>

        <h1 class="reader-title">French hospital goes on INDEFINITE

          strike to protest Covid-19 vaccination mandate</h1>

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          <div class="reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">3-4 minutes</div>

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            <p> The staff of the hospital in Montelimar, in the French

              department of Drome, have gone on indefinite strike to

              protest the new rules demanding they take a vaccine

              against Covid-19 by mid-September or face losing their

              jobs. </p>

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              <p>The strike against <em>“forced vaccination”</em> was

                announced on Thursday by the CGT-GHPP trade union, and

                affects some 200 doctors and 1,500 nurses in the

                southeastern French city. </p>

              <p>Hundreds of them gathered outside the hospital on

                Friday, denouncing lockdowns and vaccine mandates and

                chanting<em> “liberté!”</em> (freedom). </p>

              <p>The French legislature is finalizing the proposal that

                would require all medical professionals in contact with

                the vulnerable to be fully vaccinated by September 15,

                or else lose their salaries and even their jobs.</p>

              <p><em>“We are against mandatory vaccination and vaccine

                  coercion,”</em> Elsa Ruillere, local union

                representative, told <a

href="https://fr.sputniknews.com/sante/202107231045914428-lhopital-de-montelimar-entre-en-greve-contre-le-vaccin-impose-aux-soignants/">Sputnik

                  France</a>. <em>“There is no choice between tests or

                  vaccination: vaccination is compulsory. No, we don't

                  agree. We want to have the choice like the rest of the

                  world and we do not want compulsory vaccination.”</em></p>

              <p>Ruillere says her union supports <em>“free and

                  informed consent”</em> and is not against vaccination

                on principle but is against coercion. Some of the

                medical workers said they are waiting for the

                French-made Sanofi-GSK vaccine, promised for December. </p>

“We are well aware of the evolution of the virus.

We do not take it lightly,” Ruillere said.

                However, she and her striking colleagues point out that

                even with the rise in positive tests for the Delta

                variant of the coronavirus, there is no commensurate

                rise in hospitalizations.</p>

              <p><em>“Yes, we turned ‘red’ but that's in fact due to the

                  positive tests. In terms of hospitalizations, we are

                  fine at the moment, we did not need to reopen beds, we

                  have far fewer hospitalized people than before and

                  fewer people in intensive care,”</em> she added.</p>

              <p>Another union gripe is the lack of public debate, since

                France’s National Assembly seems to have simply

                proceeded on the advice of the High Health Authority

                (HAS), which called the vaccination mandate <em>“justified.”</em></p>

              <p><a

                  href="https://www.rt.com/news/529516-france-covid-passport-protests/"

                  target="_blank"> <span> <span> <span>Also on rt.com</span>

                      <span>Over ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND rally against

                        ‘Covid-19 tyranny’ in France, protesting

                        immunity passports & vaccination mandate

                        (VIDEO)</span> </span> <span data-bgset="

                      https://cdni.rt.com/files/2021.07/xxs/60f3d6c385f54025de72c659.png

                      280w,

                      https://cdni.rt.com/files/2021.07/xs/60f3d6c385f54025de72c659.png

                      320w,

                      https://cdni.rt.com/files/2021.07/thumbnail/60f3d6c385f54025de72c659.png

                      460w,

                      https://cdni.rt.com/files/2021.07/m/60f3d6c385f54025de72c659.png

                      540w,

                      https://cdni.rt.com/files/2021.07/l/60f3d6c385f54025de72c659.png

                      768w,

                      https://cdni.rt.com/files/2021.07/article/60f3d6c385f54025de72c659.png

                      980w,

                      https://cdni.rt.com/files/2021.07/xxl/60f3d6c385f54025de72c659.png

                      1240w " data-sizes="auto"></span> </span>

                </a></p>

              <p>There have been widespread protests in France since

                mid-July, as the government of President Emmanuel Macron

                imposed the vaccination mandate on health workers and

                introduced a  <em>“<a

href="https://www.rt.com/news/529827-france-covid19-pass-health-vaccine/">health

                    pass</a>”</em> requirement to access public venues

                with more than 50 people in attendance. The pass

                requirement will extend to cafes, restaurants and shops

                starting August 1. </p>

              <p>There has been a 150% increase in coronavirus cases

                over the past week in France, attributed to the Delta

                variant. The government says 96% of those infected are

                unvaccinated.</p>

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