Somewhere between this number attended the protest, which began at Place de la Nation in the capital, Agence-France-Presse.

Despite - or perhaps because of - the nature of the event, the police prefecture did not hesitate to fine people who were not wearing a mask, and announced that 123 - around half - of the group were given the standard 鈧�135 punishment.

In a Tweet, the prefecture added that one person was arrested for 鈥渙utrage and rebellion鈥�.

The protesters were accusing the government of 鈥渕anipulating people with fear鈥� and imposing mandatory masks on the population 鈥渨ithout any scientific justification鈥�. Placards read: 鈥淪top the lies and corruption鈥� and 鈥渢he deep State will not pass鈥�.

One woman who spoke at the protest, named Sophie, explained that she wanted 鈥渢he freedom to choose鈥�, and said: 鈥淧eople don鈥檛 want to wear masks, they are only doing so because they are afraid of getting fined. I am simply a citizen who is angry about the freedom-attacking measures that have no medical justification.鈥�

Another protester said: 鈥淭hey are lying because at the beginning, they said that we did not need to wear masks. We want to know why there is this incoherence.鈥�

Another, named as Ana茂s, aged 26 and a sociologist, said: 鈥淭here is no scientific proof of the usefulness of wearing a mask outside. Covid-19 is not that dangerous; it mainly kills people who are aged over 60.鈥�

An attendee wearing a yellow vest in the style of the 鈥�gilets jaunes鈥� protests from last year, added: 鈥淚t is just another way for the [state] to make the people pay.鈥�

The protest drew significantly fewer people than the larger events seen in recent weeks and days in the US, and other European cities such as Zurich in Switzerland and Berlin in Germany, with the latter event drawing as many as 18,000 people.

Read more: Covid-19: who are France鈥檚 anti-maskers?

In an interview with Connexion, Rudy Reichstadt, director of media group Conspiracy Watch said: 鈥淚n France, [the anti-maskers are] a very small minority movement and far less active than in the UK, Germany and US, where there have been big demonstrations.

鈥淚n France, the vast majority of people have mainly understood that though wearing a mask can be uncomfortable, it鈥檚 something we can all do for the health of everyone.鈥�

Mask rule changes

Wearing a mask in enclosed public spaces is now mandatory across much of France, especially in areas where physical distancing is difficult.

Masks are also to be obligatory in colleges and lycees, and in all workplaces in which staff interact or share a workspace.

In its most recent recommendations on the issue, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says: 鈥淎 fabric mask can protect others around you鈥�, and it recommends mask-wearing, along with other hygiene measures such as physical distancing and handwashing.

This is in contrast to their recommendations at the start of the epidemic, when it was thought that scientific evidence did not offer conclusive reasons for everyone to wear a mask - especially people with no symptoms.

But in early April, the WHO said that new evidence prompted a reevaluation of its rules on face masks, and it later changed its guidelines.

Read more: Mandatory masks in the workplace in France: FAQs

Latest update

In the from health body Sant茅 Publique France (Saturday August 29), there were 5,453 new cases confirmed in the previous 24 hours - a drop on the 7,379 reported on Friday August 28.

The rise in cases did not lead to a rise in hospitalisations, however, with 4,530 patients hospitalised due to Covid-19 causes on Saturday, a drop from the 4,535 on Friday. The number of people in intensive care rose slightly from 387 on Friday to 400 on Saturday.

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