More than 30,000 Attend Protests against Rising Prices in Austria
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – More than 30,000 people took part in protests against rising prices in Austria, including about 20,000 people who took to the streets in Vienna, the organizers of the protest, representatives of the national federation of trade unions, said at the rally.
The organizers thanked those present for participating in the event. A crowd of several thousand people, who had gathered on Karlsplatz after marching through the city center for almost three hours, greeted the union leaders with shouts and whistles.
The Vienna police told RIA Novosti that the rally was peaceful, there were no arrests. The police, in order to avoid confrontation, tolerated the fact that some participants burned fireworks and firecrackers during the procession. The police refused to provide their own data on the number of demonstrators in Vienna.
According to a RIA Novosti correspondent, the rally took place with increased presence of the police, the streets along which the activists were walking were fenced off.
Earlier, the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) announced a demonstration on September 17 in all federal states, protesting against inflation and rising energy and food prices. The protesters in Vienna demanded lower prices, higher wages, government guarantees in the field of energy supply and a “freeze” in rent growth.
The current increase in inflation is a big challenge for a large part of the Austrians, Mayor of Vienna Michael Ludwig said on Twitter. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said he shares the concerns of the protesters due to rising prices.
