Anti-lockdowns and anti-vaccine passport protests erupted across Europe on Saturday, according to media photos and videos.
Thousands upon thousands of demonstrators were seen in London, Dublin, Paris, Rome, Athens, and other cities across Europe, according to footage and news reports.
The demonstrations in France appeared to be the tensest, with riot police firing tear gas as clashes erupted in central Paris.
Police sought to push back demonstrators near the capital’s Gare Saint-Lazare railway station after protesters had knocked over a police motorbike ridden by two officers, news footage showed. Scuffles between police and demonstrators also broke out the Champs-Elysees thoroughfare, where teargas was fired and traffic was halted, it showed.
France’s Interior Ministry said that about 160,000 people partook in the protests on Saturday—sharply up from 114,000 a week before that, reported Reuters.
JUST IN 🚨 Massive anti-vaccine passport protest in London.
Follow @insiderpaper pic.twitter.com/fq3S2b9Ezk
— Masa (@GHClc1ahp6RlhOg) July 24, 2021
The reason for the protest, in part, was due to pending legislation in France’s Parliament that would set up a vaccine passport system as well as a vaccination mandate for all healthcare workers. The passport bill would force people to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test result to…
Read full story here: Protests Rage Across Europe as Lockdown, Vaccination Mandates Start