In Paris, some 105,000 people, according to the Police, protested against President Macron’s desire to “annoy” those not vaccinated against the covid
This Saturday different important citizen mobilizations took place against the sanitary restrictions due to the pandemic in France, Germany or Austria, while the leaders of these countries continue to harden the discourse against those who oppose vaccination. In France, where surely the most numerous protest marches were seen after the recent statements by President Emmanuel Macron about his desire to “annoy” those not vaccinated against covid-19, thousands of people took to the streets in various calls in large cities like Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux or Strasbourg.
In the French capital one of the main events was carried out by the far-right candidate Florian Philippot, former right hand of Marine Le Pen, who denounced the “country of tyranny, of segregation, of the separation of thousands of people” in which a his judgment has become France. In addition, a video of Donald Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon was shown at the Paris event and an EU flag was torn off.
In Lyon, however, the demonstration was just the opposite, with the presence of the ‘yellow vests’ and flags of the union of the General Confederation of Workers (CGT), reports Europa Press. They protested against “social apartheid” and under the slogan “Against covictadura. Neither guinea pigs, nor anti-vaccines ».
Vaccines for children
In Germany, too, thousands of people took to the streets. Thus, in the city of Schwerin (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), in the north of the country, some 1,600 people gathered, according to the Police, and 2,000 according to the organizers. Accompanied by drums and trumpets, they carried a banner at the head that read: «Parents and grandparents say !!! NO !!! to vaccinate children against COVID-19 ».
There was also a rally in the center of Hamburg for a demonstration in which the authorities expected about 11,000 people. Likewise, in Berlin dozens of people demonstrated against the restrictions and other measures to stop coronavirus infections with a parade of 100 vehicles and a total of 150 participants, according to the Police.
Instead, in the city of Minden, in North Rhine-Westphalia, there was a protest against the Querdenken (Lateral Thinking) movement. There, some 2,500 people took to the streets to demonstrate against deniers, vaccination skeptics and the extreme right. “Yes to freedom of opinion and union, but decidedly no to hatred, threats and violence,” read a banner.
In any case, the new German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, supports mandatory vaccination and considers anti-vaccines “a small minority of reckless extremists.”
Meanwhile, in Austria some 40,000 people gathered in Vienna against the restrictions and the compulsory nature of vaccination. It was an eminently peaceful protest except when a group wanted to skip a police cordon and there were some arrests.
.