The United States is not alone in seeing part of its population oppose containment measures and go to protest to demand a reopening of the economy and services. This Saturday, May 9, thousands of demonstrators gathered in several big cities of Germany like Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt or Cologne in order to defend according to them their fundamental freedoms that the measures of containment would have taken away from them. The coronavirus epidemic has led to the closure of many businesses and services, and more and more people are questioning whether the price paid to fight the epidemic was justified. Lisbob, the expatriate assistant, tells you all about these anti-containment protests in Germany.
Thousands of anti-lockdown protesters in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne
More than 3,000 people gathered in Munich and thousands more gathered on Saturday in Stuttgart and all over Germany to demand the lifting of restrictions ordered by the German authorities related to containment. Many protesters challenged the guidelines that provide for a limited number of participants and the maintenance of social distance during these events.
Germany indeed allows a maximum of 50 people per assembly. Protesters accuse politicians and medical workers of spreading panic and violating the rights of the population with this prolonged confinement. Some of the rallies also included anti-vaccination activists. In Munich, police used loudspeakers to urge protesters to minimize the risk of infection.
Stuttgart is also starting to look lively as Hundreds of people protest against Covid-19 restrictions..
— TheSpeaker2018 (@TheSpeaker2018) May 9, 2020
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Kicking off in Berlin..Anti lockdown protesters by the thousands 🇩🇪
— TheSpeaker2018 (@TheSpeaker2018) May 9, 2020
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The biggest Berlin demonstration saw hundreds of people gather on Alexanderplatz, despite the order that limits the maximum of 50 demonstrators per rally.
Although the demonstrators did not follow the instructions, the German police decided not to disperse the demonstration "on the basis of proportionality" because the demonstrators were not violent. However, according to the German public broadcaster ARD, the authorities dispersed a separate demonstration by right-wing supporters who gathered around 25 people in the same city.
The Stuttgart manifestation also saw the participation of thousands of participants. Most of them respected the rules of expulsion, according to the police. Two separate demonstrations were recorded in Berlin, including a smaller one in front of the German parliament which ended with the detention of around 30 demonstrators by the security forces to identity them.
