Thousands protest coronavirus restrictions in major German cities

Berlin (dpa) – Thousands of people demonstrated in German cities on Saturday against the restrictions on public life put in place to fight the coronavirus outbreak, even though many of the limits have been lifted or relaxed.

One of the biggest protests was in the south-western city of Stuttgart, with smaller rallies held in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne.

In Stuttgart, several thousand marched through the Cannstatter Wasen, a large festival area on the banks of the Neckar river.

A Stuttgart police spokesperson said that the march had become quite crowded but that protective measures had largely been observed by participants.

The police did not provide an estimate of the number of people in attendance. Authorities had set the maximum number at 10,000.

Stuttgart was also the scene of a rally last weekend. Other cities, such as Berlin, have seen regular demonstrations in recent weeks, although the turnout has often been in the dozens of people.

Several hundred people demonstrated in Cologne – without keeping the minimum distance and without face coverings – and encouraged passersby to remove their face masks.

“A large number of the demonstrators repeatedly called on uninvolved people to take off their face covering and enter the shops without masks. We have absolutely no sympathy for this,” police commissioner Uwe Jacob said.

“It is incomprehensible to me how one can demand such a thing in these times. Obviously, these people have still not understood that this is not only about their health, but also about the lives of other people,” he said, adding that he was shocked that children were brought to the demonstration.

Jacob said officers had the names of the protest leaders and would consider pressing charges if they were found to have broken coronavirus protection ordinances.

In Berlin on Saturday, police detained about 30 people for non-compliance with social distancing and hygiene rules in front of the Reichstag parliament building.

Despite announcements over loudspeakers, the minimum distance had not always been maintained, police in the German capital said.

A few kilometres away, several hundred people gathered at Alexanderplatz, a normally busy transport hub, for a previously unannounced gathering.

Currently only meetings with up to 50 participants are allowed at any fixed location in Berlin. At one point, police in riot gear used pepper spray on the protesters to break up the crowd.

Elsewhere, on Munich’s Marienplatz central plaza, about 3,000 people demonstrated against the pandemic regulations.

The demonstration had been registered, but only for 80 participants, a police spokesperson said. For “reasons of proportionality,” the demonstration was allowed to continue, the spokesperson said, adding everyone had behaved peacefully.

More than 500 demonstrators protested in Germany’s financial hub, Frankfurt. They marched through the city centre with banners and shouted: “Join in” and “Resist.”

According to the police, this was an unannounced rally and, in some instances the minimum distance of 1.5 metres had not been followed. The police did not break up the demonstration, however.

Germany has been gradually restoring freedoms that were taken away in order to curb the virus.

Shops have been allowed to reopen, but many bars and restaurants are closed or available only for to-go orders. Germans began going to the hairdresser last Monday under strict hygiene rules, while more pupils were allowed to return to class. Playgrounds are also open.

Across most of Germany, where restrictions vary by region due to the federal division of powers, social-distancing measures remain in place, limiting people to meeting in pairs outdoors at a distance of 1.5 metres, or with people from their own household. Face masks have been made mandatory in businesses and on public transportation.