Thousands of people took part in a demonstration Sunday in the western German city of Dusseldorf, as opposed to government restrictions imposed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to the demonstration, organizers said they expected up to 50,000 more people to attend, while police had about 10,000, according to the DPA news agency. In the end, however, only a few thousand people joined the protest until mid-afternoon.
Participants had to wear a mask, but had to stand at least 1. 5 meters (5 feet) from others, as stipulated in pandemic regulations in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, of which Dusseldorf is the capital.
There were banners with slogans such as “End of Panic, Coronavirus Is a Lie,” while playing songs criticizing coronavirus restrictions, according to the Associated Press.
There were several counter-demonstrations in the city.
A regional branch of the Querdenken movement (side thinking) is manifestation. The organization has organized demonstrations throughout the country, adding in the capital, Berlin.
Read more: Coronavirus: What You Need to Know About Testing
Berlin has noticed some of the highest concentrations of pandemic complaints
Previous occasions have attracted participants who, while united in their rejection of the government’s strategy to manage the pandemic, constitute a wide variety of world visions.
They come with other vaccine opponents who see the pandemic as a hoax aimed at making profits for giant pharmaceutical corporations and cite Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates as the instigator. Others believe that the pandemic is real, but that it was caused through 5G. Cellular networks that are being deployed around the world, while others believe that the measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are an example of government overshooting leading to authoritarianism.
However, the biggest fear for the authorities is the contingent of far-right protesters who use the protests as a platform to spread their anti-Semitic ideology, some of whom have been noticed in past demonstrations with the old imperial flag, used as a symbol across of the extreme right.
During a demonstration in Berlin on 29 August, an organization of protesters rushed up the stairs of the Reichstag building, sparking outrage.
On the other hand, a demonstration last weekend in Munich, which took place at the site of the world-famous Oktoberfest, canceled this year due to the pandemic, largely peaceful, yet some 120 participants among a crowd of 10,000 others. People face legal action, most of them for not wearing masks.
Read more: Munich bans alcohol in Oktoberfest due to coronavirus
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