PARIS — Thousands of people marched in Paris and other French cities Saturday for a fourth consecutive week of protests against the COVID-19 health passes that everyone in the country will need shortly to enter cafes, trains and other venues.

The demonstrations came two days after France’s Constitutional Council upheld most provisions of a new law that expands the locations where health passes are needed to enter.

Starting Monday, the pass will be required in France to access cafes, restaurants, long-distance travel and, in some cases, hospitals. It was already in place for cultural and recreational venues, including cinemas, concert halls, sports arenas and theme parks with a capacity for more than 50 people.

With French riot police on guard, a largely peaceful crowd walked across Paris carrying banners that read: “Our freedoms are dying” and “Vaccine: Don’t touch our kids.” Some were also upset that the government has made COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for health care workers by Sept. 15.

Dozens of street protests took place in other French cities as well, including Marseille, Nice and Lille. The French Interior ministry said there were 237,000 protesters nationwide, including 17,000 in Paris.

Opponents say the virus pass limits their mobility and implicitly renders vaccines obligatory.

Polls, however, show that most people in France support the health passes, which prove that people are vaccinated, have had a negative recent test or have recovered from COVID-19.

Muriel, 55, a Parisian who declined to give her last name, told The Associated Press that she especially protests “the disguised mandatory vaccination ... it’s an incredible blow to our fundamental freedoms.”

A separate protest organized by far-right politician Florian Philippot gathered thousands near the Health Ministry in central Paris. Many held French flags and called for French President Emmanuel Macron to resign.

“Here, you don’t have COVID, but you have rage!” Philippot told the crowd, calling for a boycott of places requiring the pass.

In Reunion island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean that is under a partial lockdown amid a surge in infections, thousands turned out to protest the virus pass.

France is registering over 21,000 new confirmed virus cases daily, a steep climb from a month ago. More than 112,000 people with the virus in France have died since the pandemic began.

Over 36 million people in France — about 54% of the population — are fully vaccinated. At least 7 million have gotten their first vaccine shot since Macron announced the health pass requirement on July 12.

A growing number of European countries have implemented virus passes, each with different rules.

Italy’s “Green Pass” took effect on Friday. Denmark pioneered vaccine passes with little resistance. In Austria, the pass is needed to enter into restaurants, theaters, hotels, sports facilities and hairdressers. In Germany, anti-virus pass protests in Berlin last weekend led to some violent clashes with police.

But backlash to some government measures was not confined to Europe.

Thai riot police on Saturday fired water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to repel a crowd of several hundred young anti-government protesters who marched on an army base where Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has his residence to demand his resignation.

The demonstrators threw rocks, bottles, fireworks and fired slingshots during the hourslong confrontation in the Din Daeng area of Bangkok, which was obscured by swirling smoke.

The rally was led by the Free Youth, a student protest group that drew tens of thousands to its protests last year.

It’s demanding Prayuth’s resignation over his handling of the coronavirus crisis, which has seen the number of cases spiraling and the health care system stretched to the limit. Prayuth has been criticized for a slow vaccination program.

Thailand reported a new high of 21,838 confirmed cases on Saturday, with 212 more deaths. Bangkok and surrounding provinces have been under lockdown, including overnight curfew, for weeks.

According to the city’s Erawan Medical Center emergency services, five people were hospitalized, including three police officers.

The march was called off in the early evening but disturbances continued, with protesters battling the police and hurling objects.

The protesters are also calling for part of the budget for the monarchy and the military to be redirected into the COVID-19 fight.