Protests against COVID-19 curbs rock Netherlands, Belgium, France

New Delhi: People continued to protest against COVID-19 curbs in parts of the Netherlands, France and Belgium.

People continued to show up in numbers across European cities on Sunday, with the police deploying water cannons and tear gases to disperse crowds. More people have been arrested, reported DW News.

Riots broke out in cities across the Netherlands, the third night in a row that police clashed with mobs of angry youths who set fires and threw rocks to protest COVID-19 restrictions. Protests continued in the Netherlands for the third day in a row with police issuing an emergency order in the eastern city of Enschede, near the German border, reported DW News.

Protesters set off fireworks and vandalized properties in cities — Groningen and Leeuwarden in the north, Enschede in the east, and Tilburg in the south. 130 people have been arrested since the protests began, police said.

A football match in Leeuwarden was briefly disrupted after supporters, who were barred from the games because of COVID restrictions, threw fireworks into the ground, Dutch media reported.

In Rotterdam, the second-largest Dutch city, police arrested 26 people after fans grew rowdy at a game — people attacked police, threw bins, and lit fireworks. The Netherlands imposed a partial lockdown on November 13 and is considering tighter rules for the unvaccinated in public arenas.

Meanwhile, thousands of people protested against COVID restrictions in downtown Brussels, reported DW News. They were mainly demonstrating against the government’s requirement to have people show a vaccine certificate in public places like restaurants.

Around 35,000 people took to the street in Brussels, police said. But the majority had dispersed before protests grew violent.

Towards the evening, protesters began smashing cars and setting trash bins ablaze, forcing the police to respond with water cannons and tear gas to restore order, reported DW News.

COVID infections have grown at an alarming pace in Belgium in recent weeks, with the country seeing an average of over 12,000 new infections per day.

French overseas territory of Guadeloupe was hit by the third night of looting and rioting, with armed protesters shooting at police and firefighters, said authorities, reported DW News.

Police arrested 38 people as protesters broke into cars and set them ablaze. They also destroyed pharmacies, Alexandre Rochatte, Guadeloupe’s prefect, who represents the French government, said in a statement.

The island territory has been rocked by protests over a week, with people demanding an end to the government’s mandate of compulsory vaccination for health workers, as well as seeking support for rising fuel prices.