Why are demonstrations against health measures increasing in Europe?

With the fifth wave of coronavirus sweeping through Europe, health restrictions are reappearing in some countries and regions, causing a wave of frustration. On Saturday and Sunday, thousands of Austrians took to the streets to show their discontent as the country completely reconfigured itself at midnight Sunday. Violent protests also took place in the Netherlands for three days, after the government decided to close restaurants at 8 p.m. and apply partial lockdowns. Finally, he had troubles Sunday in Belgium on the sidelines of a demonstration in Brussels after the generalization of the wearing of the mask, as well as the mandatory return of telework.

Incidents still far from those in Guadeloupe, which had its seventh day of violence on Sunday, between roadblocks, fires and looting. There, the wave of dissatisfaction with the health restrictions and the compulsory vaccination of caregivers degenerated into a major social crisis. Is the phenomenon in the process of amplifying and spreading to other European countries?

Do protests occur for the same reasons in different countries?

In view of the 65% of Austrians completely vaccinated or the 46.43% of adults having received a first dose in Guadeloupe, the vaccination coverage rate seems to be correlated with the tensions that have arisen in these countries. “These populations are more severely affected by the waves of Covid-19 and their government then has no other choice than to quickly take measures or to re-define to avoid the saturation of hospitals”, underlines Caroline De Pauw, specialist sociologist health subjects and director of the URPS (Regional Union of Health Professionals) Hauts-de-France. “On the other hand, unvaccinated populations are already skeptical about what their government is offering them and are still opting out of non-membership. “

But low vaccination coverage is not the only source of protest movements. In fact, the Netherlands and Belgium have a population that is 75% fully vaccinated. But for these countries too, the announcement of new deprivations of liberty was made suddenly, without palliation or acclimatization. “We go from periods of euphoria to periods of depression, with the added bonus of continuous information that creates a feeling of fear or permanent expectation”, analyzes Loïc Nicolas, doctor in political communication at the Free University of Belgium and researcher in the Protagoras laboratory of IHECS (Institut des Hautes Etudes des Communications Sociales). Beyond the restrictions, the way of announcing them would also be the cause of the current tensions.

Why are these protests erupting now?

European countries have been facing the different waves of Covid-19 for more than two years. It is therefore not the first time that their citizens have had to confine themselves or accept health restrictions in an attempt to stem the epidemic. However, the context is not the same as at the start of the health crisis. “So far, most people have agreed to regain their freedom at the cost of vaccination. It was based on promises, which today are not kept. They have the impression that in the course of the game, governments have decided to change the rules, ”explains Loïc Nicolas.

“People have been told that vaccination would allow restrictions to be reduced. Except that it is necessary to reach important rates and that the vaccine prevents especially serious forms, but not of all the forms ”, comments Caroline de Pauw, according to which the current measures are consequently seen as an injustice after so many sacrifices. “There is a weariness, people tell themselves that it will never end. “

Why could the protest extend to other European countries?

If the trigger for the demonstrations is undoubtedly the announcement of new restrictions, they appear especially where confidence in political speech has been shaken. The Covid-19 then becomes the expression of deeper tensions. “In a critical period, when the holder of public authority breaks his word – a political word, of confidence, of the State – it is hardly surprising that there can be strong social tension”, explains Loïc. Nicolas, stressing that these are fueled by a socio-economic and ecological context carrying great uncertainties.

In France, on the other hand, “the restrictions have already been in place for a long time with the introduction of the health pass, underlines Caroline de Pauw. There may be a few more pass checks with the start of Wave 5, but the device is part of our daily lives. ”Little chance, a priori, that demonstrations break out as in Guadeloupe… Unless there is a new variant that would not respond to current vaccines. “We are never safe. It would bring down everything that people are accepting and it would change their point of view, ”says the expert.

What strategy to adopt to avoid a massive rebellion in Europe?

For the two experts, it is above all the way governments communicate and act that will be decisive in accepting the current situation. “These demonstrations are not rational, we are on an affective and emotional reaction”, underlines Caroline de Pauw, who believes that the heads of state should reinject positive and perspectives in their speeches. “It’s like when you want to quit smoking,” illustrates the expert. We need to project ourselves, telling ourselves that we are doing it so as not to die of cancer in ten years, to resume running without being out of breath. Zion still takes that pleasure away from you but when you are told that nothing is going to change in your life, you will never stop smoking. “

On the other hand, managing the pandemic by separating vaccinated and unvaccinated citizens, young and old, caregivers and others “is extraordinarily dangerous”, insists Loïc Nicolas. “By thanking some for their solidarity and stigmatizing others, we create resentments instead of working to unite the social body around positive emotions on a united basis,” he concludes.

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