Kenya: From Kenya to France – how face masks are becoming a rallying symbol

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the French government initially discouraged people from wearing face masks that it could not provide, before imposing them first on middle and high schools at the start of the school year, then on elementary schools.
• In the recent student uprisings, protesters have been using surgical and ‘FFP2’ face masks to protect themselves from tear gas and cover their faces.
• Prefects in France have banned protective wear and equipment from demonstrations;…