Tens of thousands of people (around 35,000 according to the police) demonstrated on Saturday in Vienna against the anticovid measures, after the government decreed a general lockdown starting from Monday and the obligation to vaccinate from 2022.

The participants waved Austrian flags and chanted slogans praising freedom; they did not wear masks, it violates the rules enacted to fight the coronavirus epidemic (the announcements scanned by the organizers through to remember the obligation of the protective device were with many whistles).

The police did not report significant incidents, but some videos released by the Austrian media testify of clashes between agents and some demonstrators.

For the occasion, it was deployed in a large police force with at least 1,300 officers; some protest participants were arrested for “aggressive behavior” and resistance to public officials, public television ORF reported.

The far-right FPOE, among others, collaborated to organize the event.

In Austria, the vaccination rate is 66% (below the European average) and new infections have experienced a resurgence with over 15,000 cases per day.