Ahead of planned demonstrations against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and oppressive restriction measures set to take place over the weekend in France and Austria, U.S. Embassies in Paris and Vienna have issued demonstration alerts, calling on U.S. citizens to avoid the vicinities of the protests.
Austria
One of the demonstrations, which began on Friday afternoon and continued into the evening hours, saw a large motorcade of demonstrators make its way along the Ring Road, one of Vienna’s main thoroughfares which runs through the historic Innere Stadt district, Kronen Zeitung reports.
Protesters on foot, waving flags and shouting slogans, were also seen walking alongside the motorcade. According to eyewitnesses, over 100 vehicles, including a tractor, participated in the demonstration. Significant traffic delays were said to have occurred as a result of the protest.
American travelers and residents living in the Austrian capital have also been urged to avoid the city’s central district on Saturday between 11:00 am and 6:30 pm, when another rally against the government’s COVID policies is scheduled to take place.
France
The U.S. Embassy and Consulate in France also issued a warning to American travelers in and around the city of Nantes, in the department of Loire-Atlantique, ahead of planned demonstrations against the government’s so-called ‘health pass,’ which is set to take place on Saturday at 2:00 pm. Employees of the US government have been advised to avoid the area around the city’s center.
The alert also mentions that additional demonstrations across major cities in France could also be planned for the weekend.
The warnings come after last weekend saw tens of thousands—if not hundreds of thousands—demonstrators gather across major cities in Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and the United Kingdom to oppose draconian COVID-19 measures and vaccine mandates, The European Conservative reported.
The demonstrations were some of the largest to take place on the continent since the pandemic began nearly two years ago.
