V the Austrian capital Vienna and other Austrian cities tens of thousands of protesters joined protests against anti-epidemic measures. 15,000 people gathered on Handelsplatz in Vienna. Then they set off on a march through the city center, which eventually involved about 44,000 people, BTA reported.
About 1,400 police officers maintained order, Reuters added. Three people were arrested for using pirates and disobeying mask regulations. Journalists covering the event were attacked with snowballs and pieces of ice, injuring a reporter.
The leader of the far-right Austrian Freedom Party, Herbert Kikl, has called on protesters in Vienna to oppose the mandatory vaccination planned in Austria in February. He said the measure, like the indefinite lockdown for the unvaccinated, was an attack on humanity and the government was acting sadistically.
Austria removes lockdown, but only for vaccinated people
There have been large-scale demonstrations in Vienna in recent weeks against the authorities’ anti-coronavirus policy. Each protest drew more than 40,000 protesters.
Several hundred people also gathered in Luxembourg to protest the anti-epidemic measures. At one point, tensions erupted and law enforcement used a water cannon against a group trying to break through barriers blocking access to the city center. About 10 people were arrested.
In a similar protest on December 4th, protesters stormed a Christmas bazaar and pelted Prime Minister Xavier Bethel’s house with eggs, demanding his resignation.
Between 1,000 and 1,500 people protested against the current green certificate in Catalonia. The protest took place in the center of Barcelona.
Thousands protest in Europe against COVID measures
Protesters carried a banner reading “Green Certificate Equals a Totalitarian State” and posters reading “No to the Nazi Passport.” On one of the posters, the QR code of the green certificate was compared to the broken cross of the Nazis. The crowd chanted, “This is not a pandemic, this is a dictatorship.” This is the second such protest in Barcelona.
Thousands took part in protests against coronavirus restrictions in a number of German cities, DPA reported. About 10,000 protested in Hamburg. About 500 people protested in the town of Stendal in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and more than 700 in Schwering. There were 2,000 people protesting in Newmarkt and only 100 in Munich. In Berlin, protesters took to the streets in their cars, honking their horns. There were similar protests last night in various places in Germany.