Police use water cannon as German lockdown protest turns violent

Police deployed water cannon and pepper spray after a gathering of some 20,000 protesters against lockdown and other coronavirus rules in central Germany turned violent, with some demonstrators throwing bottles at police.

Protesters from all over Germany converged on the central city of Kassel for the march, which was organised by the "Querdenker" - "Lateral Thinkers" - online conspiracy movement.

"Bottles were thrown and there were attempts to break through barriers," police said on Twitter.

Police said protesters disobeyed instructions they gave to help ensure people's safety, including by refusing to wear face masks and observe social distancing guidelines.

Protesters carried placards reading "No compulsory vaccination" and "Democracy will not tolerate censorship".

Marchers faced counter-protesters wearing face masks, one of whom held up a placard reading "Vaccinated".

With Germany in its fourth month of lockdown and vaccination efforts lagging compared to Britain and the United States, many people, from shopkeepers to would-be holidaymakers, are increasingly restive at the lack of a clear path to a return to normal life.

National and regional leaders are due to consult on Monday over the next steps in the national lockdown. But with case numbers rising sharply thanks to the spread of more infectious variants, many politicians are saying it is too early to ease restrictions.

2021年3月20日，德国卡塞尔，警察在抗议政府对冠状病毒疾病的限制时，将示威者从广场上带走。[图片/机构]在德国中部大约20，000名反对封锁和其他冠状病毒规则的抗议者聚集在一起，演变成暴力事件，一些示威者向警方投掷瓶子后，警方部署了高压水枪和胡椒喷雾。来自德国各地的抗议者聚集在中部城市卡塞尔参加游行，游行由“克雷登克”(Querdenker)“横向思考者”(Spatial思想者)——在线阴谋运动组织。“有人扔瓶子，有人试图突破障碍，”警方在推特上说。警方表示，抗议者不服从他们发出的帮助确保人们安全的指示，包括拒绝戴口罩和遵守社交距离准则。抗议者举着写有“不强制接种疫苗”和“民主不会容忍审查”的标语牌。游行者面对戴着口罩的反抗议者，其中一人举着写着“接种疫苗”的标语牌。与英国和美国相比，德国的封锁和疫苗接种工作已经进入第四个月，从店主到潜在的度假者，许多人对缺乏恢复正常生活的明确途径越来越不耐烦。国家和地区领导人将于周一就国家封锁的下一步措施进行磋商。但由于更多传染性变异的传播，病例数量急剧上升，许多政治家表示，放松限制还为时过早。