Despite the bans, several thousand demonstrators gathered in Berlin to protest against the coronavirus restrictions, the Berliner Zeitung newspaper writes.
According to the newspaper, clashes broke out at an unauthorized rally, about 80 people were detained. Four injured police officers are also reported.
A rally of opponents of COVID-restrictions was held on Potsdamer Platz Square. After its completion, several thousand people remained on the square. Numerous demonstrators tried to break through the closed bridge into the government district.
“Our emergency services repulsed this attempt, as a result of which there was considerable resistance, partly with the use of coercive measures,” the police said.
It was reported that the police used pepper spray to stop the movement of the protesters.
Later, a downpour began in the city, and it seems that it had “a greater effect than the efforts of the police to clear the square,” the newspaper writes. Many hid under the roofs of nearby houses, but the “core” of the demonstrators had umbrellas.
More than 150 people were detained in Berlin at a rally against COVID-19 measures.
