Vienna student protest: up to 50,000 march and traffic gridlock

A mass protest by students, lecturers and university staff against budget cuts took place in Vienna. According to the organizers, up to 50,000 people took part, and the city centre was practically gridlocked. The newspaper Kronen Zeitung reports.

Against cuts to university funding

The rally was held under the slogan Red alert – #UnisRetten! (“Red alert — save the university”). Most participants were from Vienna, but many came by bus from other Austrian states. They marched peacefully to voice their anger at a budget that, according to university rectors, will lead to the loss of about ten percent of teaching posts, fewer courses and delays to research projects. In their view, the consequences could also affect patient care in university hospitals and the training of doctors.

The demonstrators chanted “No cuts” and carried banners reading “Our education, our future” and “Democracy needs education”. The governing coalition of the conservative ÖVP, the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the liberal NEOS defends the cuts by arguing that universities have received substantial funding in recent years.

Traffic collapse in the centre

For drivers, the protest turned into a nightmare. The march went through the city centre, in some sections against the usual direction of traffic. The demonstration began at 15:00 at the Vienna University of Technology and peaked during the evening rush hour, when traffic came to a complete standstill and drivers had to expect delays of at least 30 minutes.

Protests in France too

Despite curfews and restrictions on holding demonstrations, thousands of people took to the streets in Paris and other French cities, mostly young people and students. Unlike last weekend, the protests were peaceful.

The authorities first banned the Paris demonstration, but an administrative court overturned the decision. After the ruling, the authorities issued a new ban that made a march through the streets of the capital impossible, and the rally was eventually held in Paris's 13th arrondissement, where several thousand young people gathered. Protesters pointed to shortcomings in the school system and the bleak prospects facing students. Hundreds of people, mostly secondary-school pupils, also demonstrated in other French cities; police did not carry out any major interventions there either.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz