Riots swept through several European countries in response to the implementation of measures to combat the coronavirus and mandatory vaccination, as European governments attempted to curb the fifth wave of the pandemic. In the Netherlands, riots continued on Saturday for a second night due to COVID-19 restrictions, particularly in The Hague, resulting in injuries to several police officers during clashes with demonstrators opposing the measures. These riots occurred in The Hague, which houses the Dutch government, following violent incidents in Rotterdam, located in the southwestern part of the country. Police clashed in The Hague with groups of protesters who threw stones and various objects at them in a popular neighborhood. The police used water cannons to extinguish the fires set to bicycles at a busy intersection, as reported by the French Press Agency. The confrontations between the police and those rejecting the measures resulted in injuries to five police officers and the arrest of at least seven people. Violence also erupted in the small town of Urk in central Netherlands and in several areas of Limburg province in the south, where frustrated fans over the imposed measures disrupted two football matches for several minutes in Alkmaar and Almelo, according to local media. It is noteworthy that an anti-COVID-19 measures protest in central Rotterdam on Friday turned into a riot, leading to injuries of three protesters from police gunfire and the arrest of 51 individuals, according to the French Press Agency. The Netherlands reimposed partial lockdown last week to deal with the surge in COVID-19 cases and enacted a range of health restrictions, particularly affecting the restaurant sector, which must now close by 8 PM. The government is now seeking to prevent unvaccinated individuals from entering certain venues, especially bars and restaurants, in an effort to halt the wave of infections, at a time when the country recorded more than 21,000 new COVID-19 cases on Friday. Protests against the lockdown began quietly on Saturday in several cities across the country, such as Amsterdam and Breda, where 1,000 people marched carrying signs saying "No to Lockdown." Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb described what transpired on Friday as "a wave of violence."
### France: Protests in Guadeloupe
French authorities plan to send special police forces to Guadeloupe to contain the violence and restore order following riots and looting amid protests against health regulations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, as stated by French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on Saturday. Darmanin told reporters after an emergency meeting regarding the situation in Guadeloupe with Overseas Minister Sébastien Lecornu: "The first message is that the state will respond firmly," according to Reuters. He added that France will send about 50 members of elite units from the police and gendarmerie intervention forces to the territory, which has witnessed shop looting, gunfire directed at police, and the arrest of 31 individuals the previous night. Darmanin noted that the additional forces will increase the number of police and gendarmes to 2,250 in the territory, which is part of France's overseas regions. The Governor of Guadeloupe, Alexandre Rochat, who represents the French government in the archipelago, imposed a curfew from 6 PM to 5 AM after five days of unrest in the area, which saw fires set at street barricades while firefighters and doctors went on strike. In a statement posted on Twitter referencing acts of vandalism, Rochat later reported that damage to electricity facilities near dams, especially at Capesterre-Belle-Eau, caused power outages for many consumers and warned that it posed an electrocution risk.
### Austria: Thousands Protest Against Mandatory Vaccination
In the Austrian capital Vienna, approximately 40,000 demonstrators gathered on Saturday, according to police, to protest against the lockdown and mandatory vaccination announced by the government the day before to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The crowd held a demonstration near the Chancellery in Vienna, displaying signs denouncing "Corona dictatorship" or stating "No to societal division," as per the French Press Agency. Police, who closely monitored the demonstration, detained 10 individuals. Interior Minister Karl Nehammer expressed significant concern over protesters using yellow stars labeled "unvaccinated," considering this an "insult to millions of victims of Nazi dictatorship and their families." After a week of strict measures against unvaccinated individuals, Conservative Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced on Friday a lockdown for 8.9 million people until December 13. Starting Monday, they will only be able to leave their homes for shopping, exercise, or medical care. According to the French agency, although initially hesitant, the government will also prepare a law to mandate vaccination for the adult population starting February 1, 2022, and impose penalties on violators. Schallenberg apologized to vaccinated individuals for having to impose such "strict" measures and criticized "political forces in this country that strongly oppose vaccination," condemning "the assault on our healthcare system," according to the French Press Agency. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen stated that "the coming weeks will require enormous effort from us. We must do everything possible to contain this wave and prevent the next outbreak."
### Protests in Croatia and Denmark
Thousands gathered in the Croatian capital Zagreb to protest against the Croatian government's COVID-19 measures. The demonstrators expressed their discontent over the government's decision to prevent individuals without COVID-19 passes from entering government and public buildings in the country. The protesters deemed COVID-19 passes discriminatory against Croatians and divisive. In Copenhagen, hundreds participated in a nighttime march in the Danish capital, expressing their rejection of the imminent government measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The protesters marched through the streets of the capital, raising anti-health pass slogans after recording a rise in COVID-19 cases. These government measures come less than two months after lifting controls and precautionary measures.
