The first pictures – 27 demos: Heated atmosphere at Heldenplatz

State of emergency on Saturday in Vienna: In the coming hours, no fewer than 27 demonstrations have been announced in the federal capital, a large part of which is directed against the Corona measures. Numerous traffic closures are necessary, the police are on duty with a large number and asks that the affected urban areas be avoided. Numerous people had gathered at Heldenplatz around 1 p.m., and a little later the demo train was already in motion.

The mood at Heldenplatz was already heated up at the beginning. In chorus, the demonstrators chanted “Resistance” and “Freedom”. A speaker described Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and Vienna’s Mayor Michael Ludwig as the “forgotten main culprits” of the past few months. Among the participants were many families with children – accordingly numerous banners such as “For love, for children and all people” . Inscriptions such as “We are not serfs and no subjects” or “We think for ourselves” or various modifications of these were carried in front of them. While speeches were still being made at Heldenplatz, a demo procession set in motion at the ring at the same time. The MFG party is also holding a stand rally on Schwarzenbergplatz, which started at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to run until 8 p.m. In the meantime, numerous participants joined the demonstration at Heldenplatz, and a counter-demonstration against anti-Semitism and fascism started at 12 noon. The demonstrators gathered at Stephansplatz and then marched to Karmeliterplatz. Around 1200 police officers are on duty. The executive called for large meetings like this to be avoided because of the current corona situation and the risk of contagion. In addition, due to the numerous closures, traffic chaos is to be expected – some streets in Favoriten, Leopoldstadt and the inner city are particularly affected.
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