Some of the more than 40,000 protesters in Vienna carried signs that read: “I will decide for myself,” “Make Austria great again” and “New elections,” a nod to the political turmoil that has seen three foreign ministers in two. months.
Around 1,000 policemen were deployed for the march on Vienna’s Ring Boulevard and a counter-protest of 1,500 people, both allowed under the terms of the lockdown in Austria.
In the central Dutch city of Utrecht, several thousand demonstrated against the restrictions that began last weekend. Protesters carried banners reading “Medical Freedom Now!” Amid a large police contingent present.
It was the first major demonstration in the Netherlands against the measures, which include nightly closing of bars, restaurants and most shops to stop a wave of COVID-19 cases that threatens to overwhelm the healthcare system.
Two weeks ago, there were violent protests after the Dutch government announced plans to ban most unvaccinated people from bars, restaurants and other public places.
“We are against not having the freedom (to decide what happens to) our own body,” said Utrecht protester Marit van Hunen.