Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Mar 06, 2026

Violent clashes erupt during anti-lockdown demonstrations in Europe

Violent clashes erupt during anti-lockdown demonstrations in Europe

Protests in European countries against new Covid-19 restrictions turned violent over the weekend as cases continue to rise in the continent.

Rioting broke out at The Hague on Saturday over the Dutch government's new coronavirus measures. Video from the scene shows riot police deploying water cannons and charging groups of demonstrators.

The Netherlands re-entered three weeks of partial lockdown last Saturday and is now planning to ban unvaccinated people from entering some venues.

Five police officers were injured during the clashes at The Hague, with one taken to hospital suffering concussion and two suffering hearing damage from loud fireworks, police said in a statement.

"The group started fires, committed destruction, assaulted motorists and threw rocks and heavy fireworks at police officers," police said, confirming that 19 arrests were made.

They added that one demonstrator threw a stone through the window of an ambulance, which was transporting a patient to a hospital.

Thousands of protesters attended a largely peaceful march in the capital Amsterdam on Saturday. Dutch public broadcaster, NOS also reported rioting in the town of Urk and cities in southern Limburg province. The protests follow violent clashes on Friday night in the port city of Rotterdam, during which police were forced to fire gunshots to disperse the crowd, and 51 people were arrested.

Anti-lockdown protesters hold torches in Vienna, Austria on Saturday.


Elsewhere, an estimated 40,000 people on Saturday crowded the streets of Vienna in the country's biggest coronavirus-related protest to date. Police tried to de-escalate the protest and when the "mood was about to tip," they stopped fining those not wearing facemasks, Franz Eigner, Vice President of the Vienna police said during a press conference on Sunday.

Some police officers had "unidentified liquid" sprayed on them, and protesters were trying to blind a helicopter with a laser, Eigner said.

A small number of protesters were "extremely prone to violence," Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said during the press conference, which he associated with the "right-wing extremist scene."

Austria will re-introduce a nationwide partial lockdown on Monday and make coronavirus vaccinations mandatory from February next year.

More than 1,400 police officers were deployed across the country to maintain public order, according to a police statement. Pepper spray was used in one "heated" protest in central Vienna, the police statement added.

France sent dozens of elite police and counter-terrorism officers to its Caribbean island of Guadeloupe Saturday following looting and arson overnight in defiance of an overnight curfew.

The island's prefect on Friday introduced the stay-at-home order after protests against the vaccine pass spiralled into violence the previous night. The interior ministry said 31 people had been arrested.

Around 15,000 people on Saturday protested in Zagreb against the Croatian government's coronavirus measures. From Monday, only people with Covid passports can enter government and public buildings in Croatia.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Saudi Arabia Considers Response After Iranian Drone Strike Hits Major Northern Oil Refinery
Saudi Carrier Flynas Plans Limited Flight Resumption to Dubai Amid Regional Tensions
Saudi Arabia and UAE Pledge Close Coordination to Secure Oil Supplies for Japan
Middle East Conflict Casts Doubt Over Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Formula One Races
Iran Rejects Claims of Attacks on Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia and Oman
Saudi Arabia Condemns Iranian Strikes Targeting Türkiye and Azerbaijan
Saudi Pro League Orders Clubs to Continue Matches Despite Escalating Regional Conflict
U.S. Embassy in Riyadh Issues Emergency Security Alert After Drone Strike and Escalating Regional Threats
Saudi Arabia Scrambles to Redirect Oil Exports as Gulf Storage Nears Capacity
Iran Expresses Gratitude to Saudi Arabia for Closing Airspace During Escalating Conflict
Saudi Arabia Fears Iranian Strikes Could Target Senior Leaders as Regional War Escalates
Iran Says Its Strikes Target Only U.S. Military Assets and Denies Attacking Saudi Arabia
Drone Strike Hits U.S. Embassy in Riyadh as Middle East Conflict Escalates
Tom Brady’s Saudi Flag Football Event May Shift to U.S. as Middle East Conflict Disrupts Plans
Iran War Strikes Saudi Arabia at a Critical Moment for Its Economic Transformation
Saudi Cabinet Declares Kingdom Will Take All Necessary Measures to Defend National Security
United States Urges Citizens to Leave Fourteen Middle Eastern Countries as Iran War Escalates
Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura Refinery Targeted Again in Second Drone Attack Within Two Days
Saudi Pro League Orders Clubs to Continue Fixtures Despite Rising Middle East Conflict
Trump Pursues Major Civil Nuclear Agreement With Saudi Arabia Amid Regional Turmoil
Mass Drone Attacks Strike Gulf States as Iran Conflict Spreads Across Region
No Verified Confirmation of Ronaldo Departure Linked to Iran Conflict or AFC Suspension
No Verified Evidence of Israeli Intelligence Arrests in Qatar or Saudi Arabia
Drone Attack Forces Temporary Shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s Largest Oil Refinery
Israel Intensifies Air Campaign in Tehran as Iran Expands Regional Retaliation
Iranian Strikes Escalate Middle East Conflict, Drawing Saudi Arabia Closer to Wider War
No Verified Confirmation of Drone Strike on King Fahd Causeway Amid Regional Tensions
No Verified Evidence Saudi Crown Prince Is Seeking to Weaken Israel Amid Regional Tensions
Reports Emerge of Drone Strike Near US Embassy in Saudi Arabia as Americans Told to Shelter
Saudi Arabia Weighs Strategic Options as Tensions With Iran Intensify
Iran Expands Strikes on Saudi and Qatari Infrastructure, Opening a New Front in Gulf Conflict
Western Navies Sound Alarm as Russian Shadow Tankers Transit NATO Waters in Defiance of Sanctions
U.S. Embassy in Riyadh Struck by Drones Amid Escalating Iran Conflict
Imola Emerges as Standby Venue if Bahrain or Saudi Arabia Grands Prix Are Cancelled
Uncertainty Clouds $24 Billion Gulf Investment Linked to Paramount–WBD Deal
Middle East Strikes Disrupt Qatar LNG, Saudi Refining and Israeli Energy Fields
Gulf States Signal Possible Collective Action Over Iran’s Escalating Strikes
Saudi Arabia Summons Iranian Ambassador After Cross-Border Attacks
Saudi Arabia Intercepts Drones Targeting Ras Tanura Oil Refinery as Conflict Escalates
Saudi Arabia Clarifies It Supported Diplomacy With Iran, Not Military Escalation
Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Confer on Escalating Iran Crisis
Drone Strike Forces Shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s Largest Oil Refinery
Saudi Arabia Signals Harder Line on Iran as Regional Conflict Deepens
Strikes in Qatar and Saudi Arabia Pull Energy Infrastructure Deeper Into Expanding Middle East Conflict
U.S. and Israel Intensify Strikes on Iran as Conflict Expands to Lebanon and Gulf States
Violent Pro-Iranian Protesters Storm U.S. Consulate in Karachi
Missile Debris Sparks Fires at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port Near Palm Jumeirah
Iran Strikes U.S. Fifth Fleet Headquarters in Bahrain Amid Wider Gulf Retaliation
Emerging Saudi–Turkish Alignment Draws Attention as Potential Strategic Challenge for Israel
Saudi Arabia Unveils $100 Billion Technology Investment Fund to Accelerate Post-Oil Diversification
×