Demonstration

Criticism from human rights watchdogs mounted on Friday over the alleged brutality of French police in handling protests opposed to President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform.

French authorities arrested more than 450 people on Thursday in the most violent day of demonstrations since the start of the year against the bill to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Greece is blocked by a 24-hour general strike. The transport is not moving. Government offices are closed. Large-scale protest demonstrations are being prepared throughout the country.

Tens of thousands of people marched in Athens and cities across Greece on Wednesday to protest the deaths of 57 people in the country's worst train disaster , which exposed significant rail safety deficiencies.

Minister of Citizens' Protection Takis Theodorikakos has ordered the immediate investigation into reports of police violence during a rally and protest march in Athens on Sunday over the deadly train accident at Tempe in central Greece last week. 

Performing artists and art students ‒ some banging drums, playing trumpets and dressed in clown outfits ‒ gathered outside Parliament Thursday during a strike that closed theaters, halted TV shoots and disrupted art school classes.

Law enforcement provided law and order for the participants in the protests over COVID-19 restrictions that took place on Monday in 70 towns and cities, having issued 650 fines in excess of 400,000 to organisers and participants alike for several violations of applicable law.

However, the Russian police announced that about 4.000 demonstrators had gathered, Russian news agency TASS reports.
TASS writes that police officers on the ground continue to warn that the rally is illegal, while arresting the most active participants.

The leadership of the Greek police presented Thursday the new manual for demonstrations based on a Presidential Decree on public assemblies that entered into force last July. The manual is essentially the operational tactics police intend to adopt from now on to manage demonstrations.

Seeking to put an end to mass disruptions in the Greek capital and other large cities whenever a march or demonstration is held with a small number of participants, the government has drafted legislation that will be tabled to Parliament imminently. The draft bill also aims to protect cities from violence caused by groups gatecrashing otherwise peaceful rallies.

A mass demonstration in Hong Kong's suburb, Yen Long, gathered 288,000 people, according to organizers of the protest quoted by the TASS.

Earlier, police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators. Some radical actors were throwing bricks and other items into the police. According to reports, several people have been injured in the clashes. For detainees there is still no mention.