German protesters resist police attempts to stop march

Leipzig (dpa) 8 November 2020 –   
Demonstrators in the German city of Leipzig on Saturday resisted attempts by police to stop them marching in a protest against the government and its measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic.  

Some 20,000 people from across Germany had turned out in the event organized by the Querdenken (Lateral Thinking) movement, thousands more than expected by authorities.  

City authorities had earlier lost a court ruling to keep demonstrators out of the urban centre as judges allowed the event to go ahead with up to 16,000 people in attendance on an inner-city square.  

Thousands of protesters marched on an inner-city ring road, ignoring a ban by authorities to do so, after police ended the earlier rally due to uncountable violations of social distancing rules.