Police in Frankfurt, Germany fired water cannons at Antifa counterprotesters on Saturday as the far-left attempted to shut down an anti-lockdown rally against the government’s Chinese coronavirus restrictions.
Approximately 600 Querdenker (lateral thinker) protesters took to the streets of Frankfurt, calling for an end to what they termed the coronavirus “dictatorship”.
Around 300 far-left counterprotesters, carrying “bring down the right” Antifa banners, staged a counter-protest, blocking the march route while proclaiming that there is no room for “Nazi propaganda” on the streets, according to the Frankfurter Neue Presse.
Despite their open hostility to the nation-state as well as the police, Antifa has been openly supporting the government’s lockdown measures in Germany. Yet their newfound support for the state did little to help the radicals stay on the good side of officers, who began firing water cannons to break up their blockade.
Deutsche Welle reported that the water cannons were deployed after Antifa began violently attacking officers.
The conservative German magazine Tichyseinblick reported that anti-lockdown protesters called out to members of Antifa questioning: “Why are you protecting this nationalist state?” to which the leftists replied: “Put your mask on”.
After dispersing the Antifa agitators, the police went on to shut down the “thinking outside the box” protest against the lockdown, claiming that the demonstrators failed to abide by mask and social distancing requirements. Organisers of the anti-lockdown claimed that it was a result of Antifa that the march was shut down.
“We are here, we are loud because you are robbing us of the future. We are here, we are loud because you are robbing us of our freedom,” the lockdown protesters proclaimed.
Earlier this month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced what the government termed a “lockdown light”, which shut down restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, and gyms for at least a month. Schools, shops, and some workplaces are currently exempt from the restrictions.
Public gatherings of more than ten people have also been banned, as well as private parties.
Amidst rising cases of the China virus, Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “The light at the end of the tunnel is still quite a long way off,” urging Germans to stay home so that restrictions could be lifted by Christmas.
“It will be a Christmas under corona conditions, but it should not be a lonely Christmas,” she said, but warned against throwing any “lavish New Year’s parties”.
There has been growing resentment throughout the country, with mass anti-lockdown protests popping up across Germany.
Last week some 20,000 people attended a protest in the eastern city of Leipzig, which ultimately turned violent after the police declared the gathering illegal and attempted to shut it down.
Similar anti-lockdown protests were staged in the UK on Saturday, with hundreds of demonstrators calling for freedom in Bristol and Liverpool.
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