Several thousand people have taken to the streets of Berlin to protest against the government’s anti-COVID-19 restriction measures, accompanied by riot police who accompanied the demonstrators as they chanted libertarian slogans.

       Police reinforcements had been brought in from across the country to ensure the march didn’t get near federal government buildings, but numbers were down on similar protests last year, with left-wing militants conspicuous by their absence.

       The introduction of health checks in return for access to public places also brought demonstrators out again across France. But here too numbers were down on previous weeks - the police estimated 175,000 and the organisers 320,000.