As France and Poland began tightening security measures against Covid-19, imposing partial isolation, thousands of people protested in several European countries against coronavirus restrictions.

Across Europe, people in countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Romania, Serbia, Poland, France and Britain protested against the "dictatorship" of health restrictions and what they see as an attack on fundamental freedoms. The protests also presented a strong element of pandemic denial, fueled by misinformation. "Stop the corona terror" or "Covid is a hoax" were common slogans throughout the billboards.

Several rallies escalated into clashes with police. In the UK at least 36 people were arrested and several police officers injured during an anti-isolation protest in London. A similar protest took place in Manchester, with no arrests.

Virus infections have risen again in Germany in recent weeks, with the new British dominant variant, and the government will decide next week how to react. Meanwhile protests have taken place in Kassel and Berlin, where most did not wear masks.

In Finland, police estimated that about 400 people, without masks, had gathered in the capital, Helsinki, to protest against government restrictions. Earlier, hundreds marched on parliament. Smaller demonstrations were seen in other Finnish cities. Helsinki police wrote on Twitter that the protests took place peacefully, but violated the rules on social distancing and public gatherings.

Meanwhile more than 1,000 anti-vaccine protesters took to the streets in Romania's capital, Bucharest, amid a rise in Covid-19 infections. The crowd, mostly without masks, waved national flags and chanted slogans such as "Block vaccination" and "Stop fear!"

In Austria, about 1,000 people protested against the virus measures near Vienna's central train station. In Switzerland, more than 5,000 protesters held a silent march 15 kilometers southeast of Basel, local media reported. Most did not wear masks and some wore banners with slogans like "Vaccination kills".

On Friday, Germany's health minister said vaccine supplies to Europe were inadequate to prevent a third wave of the pandemic.

Sources: Euronews, Guardian