About 5000 people protested against compulsory vaccination on Wednesday evening, according to the police. Most of the demonstrators gathered on Ludwigstrasse between Siegestor and Altstadtring. The police were on duty with around 500 officers and initially seemed overwhelmed. Later, police chains were overrun at least twice by opponents of the corona measures.
The originally planned demonstration was supposed to start in front of the main university building, but it had been prohibited by the district administration department. The organizers then formally called off their meeting, but calls for “walks” in the city center spread on the Internet.
Shortly after 6 p.m., chaotic scenes developed around the university. Hundreds of people pushed from the sidewalks onto the carriageway, Schellingstrasse was quickly taken completely, and later Ludwigstrasse. At first, there was hardly any police to be seen around the university. The usual requirements for demonstrations, wearing a mask and a distance of one and a half meters, were observed by almost no one, people were soon standing close together, the police let them go.
“Hands off the children” – many anti-vaccination campaigners express their concerns with banners or posters.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
“Peace, freedom, no dictatorship”: This slogan was chanted again and again, and “Resistance”. Many had whistles with them, and pyrotechnics were occasionally set off. A police spokesman called the general mood heated. You couldn’t place any conditions because you didn’t have a contact person; it was an “inaccessible crowd” and he called its composition “extremely colorful”. When the situation on Ludwigstrasse relaxed around 8 p.m., smaller protest groups continued through the city center, followed by the police.
This wild, because not registered protest had been indicated in advance. The city had assigned the protesters the Theresienwiese: stationary, maximum 2000 people, mask and distance requirement. The organizers described these conditions as “unacceptable” and “inhumane” and canceled the planned move. At the same time, they indicated in a message that the protest could get out of control. “Understandably, some people are frustrated and disappointed,” it said. One wants to “influence the people so that everything stays peaceful on Wednesday. But that is extremely difficult in the heated atmosphere”.
Editor’s note: Initially there was talk of 3,000 demonstrators, the police updated the numbers over the course of the evening.