Europe sees fresh wave of protests, violence against Covid-19 restrictions

Police and protesters clashed in the Belgian capital Brussels, in several Dutch cities and overnight into early on Sunday in the French Caribbean territory Guadeloupe

And in Austria, some 6,000 people gathered in the city of Linz in a protest organised by a new political party, a day after 40,000 marched in Vienna over the partial lockdown

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Riot police clash with protesters in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 4:03pm, 22 Nov 2021Updated: 9:18pm, 22 Nov 2021

A fresh wave of protests has broken out in several European cities and in some French overseas territories, as protesters reacted, sometimes violently, to moves to reintroduced coronavirus restrictions.

Police and protesters clashed in the Belgian capital Brussels, in several Dutch cities and overnight into early on Sunday in the French Caribbean territory Guadeloupe.

There were fresh demonstrations in Austria, where the government is imposing a new lockdown and Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

Austrians light flares while marching down the Heldenplatz during a lockdown protest. Photo: APA/dpa

In Brussels, violence broke out at a protest that police said was attended by 35,000 people.

The march, in the city’s European Union and government district, largely focused on a ban on the unvaccinated from venues such as restaurants and bars.

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