‘Traitors to the nation,’ read placards carried by protestors in Prague this week, depicting government figures who have imposed new lockdown restrictions on the unvaccinated. Anger has been bubbling under the surface in eastern and central Europe. But as new lockdowns are imposed and governments consider making vaccines compulsory, this resentment is now threatening to burst out into the open.
Czech protests have been mild compared to the unrest seen in other European countries. Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte described recent riots in Rotterdam as ‘pure violence,’ with police firing warning shots at protestors and inflicting multiple injuries. In Brussels, tear gas and water cannons were used to contain a 35,000-strong protest which turned violent. Further protests are taking place this weekend throughout Europe, as well as further afield from Australia to the Caribbean.
As another winter of discontent looms, recent examples of civil unrest in Europe could be just the tip of the iceberg.
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