Lyon burns for 3rd night in a row, as unrest and violence continues in protest against ongoing coronavirus restrictions

RT
Sun, 07 Mar 2021 12:55 UTC

© OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP

At least five people were arrested, two cars incinerated, one police car damaged, as street furniture and public bins were also destroyed, in the third consecutive night of violence in the French city of Lyon.

After incidents in the Alagniers district on Friday and the Duchère district on Thursday, violence erupted on the streets of Bron, outside of Lyon, on Saturday evening, shortly before a curfew.

Police were pelted with numerous projectiles as they responded to several vehicle fires - their own vehicles were damaged in the incident.

France's Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin said there had been at least 21 arrests in recent days in the greater Lyon area as the public grows increasingly frustrated at the ongoing coronavirus restrictions, including the weekend curfew.

"No act of violence can be accepted. Support police forces," he tweeted.

Saturday's violence follows Darmanin's decision to deploy an additional 200 police and gendarmes to the city as reinforcements to help curb the spread of nightly violence.

Some 13 vehicles were burned in the Alagniers district of Lyon on Friday night, as at least six people were arrested.

On Thursday evening, there were clashes between angry residents and police, after a 13-year-old boy was left in a coma after crashing his scooter. Many were blaming the police for what had happened.

Comment: Meanwhile in Austria:

Thousands of protesters flooded Austria's capital amid growing anger over the government's remaining coronavirus restrictions. The rally resulted in scuffles and several arrests, according to reports.

Austria's Krone newspaper reported that around 15,000 people attended the Saturday rally. Demonstrators held placards reading "Kurz must go" as they chanted slogans calling for the resignation of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

Footage from RT's video agency Ruptly shows protesters pouring into the streets of central Vienna as they waved Austrian flags. Some of the demonstrators assembled in a park where they heard speeches from leaders of Austria's right-wing Freedom Party, which had called for the rally.

Speaking to the crowd, former interior minister Herbert Kickl accused the government of "dancing on the edge of lunacy," and described the Covid-19 restrictions as "so weird and mad, [that] no Hollywood director could make it up."

And things are going down in Idaho, as citizens of Boise hold a "Burn the Mask" demonstration. From RT:

Dozens of demonstrators, including families with small children, held a "burn the mask" demonstration outside Idaho's state Capitol building in Boise, demanding that face covering mandates amid the Covid-19 pandemic be rescinded.

Video footage on social media shows demonstrators dropping masks into a burn barrel on Saturday as people cheered and a man in the background said, "Smell the freedom, baby."

Journalist Heath Druzin said Idaho Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin and at least three state legislators attended the protest. He posted photos of a crowd of maskless demonstrators listening to a speech and people talking and hugging on a stairway. One woman at the event carried a sign saying, "I will not self-suffocate," while another sign said, "No masks, no mandates. Free your face and your mind."

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