Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine-passport protests erupted across Europe on July 24, according to media photos and videos.
Thousands upon thousands of demonstrators came out in London, Dublin, Paris, Rome, Athens, and other cities across Europe, according to footage and news reports.
The demonstrations in France appeared to be the most tense, with riot police firing tear gas as clashes erupted in central Paris.
Police sought to push back demonstrators near the capital’s Gare Saint-Lazare railway station after protesters knocked over a police motorbike ridden by two officers, news footage showed. Scuffles between police and demonstrators also broke out at the Champs-Elysees thoroughfare, where tear gas was fired and traffic was halted, it showed.
France’s Interior Ministry said that about 160,000 people partook in the protests on July 24—sharply up from 114,000 the previous week, Reuters reported.
Protesters railed against the proposed legislation, saying, “‘No’ to shameful pass,” while denigrating French President Emmanuel Macron as a “tyrant.”
Thousands of Italian demonstrators gathered in Rome, Naples, Verona, and Milan on July 24, according to videos and photos published online.
In Verona, thousands chanted, “No Green Pass,” referring to the Italian government’s decision to implement a vaccine-passport-like system for people to enter local fairs, stadiums, theaters, and other gathering areas.