End-of-summer news roundup (cont’d): Progessive segregation

Copenhagen hosted the WorldPride festival (DK) last month. The rainbow flag and colors were on display everywhere. The final collective parade was canceled because of Covid, but there were six smaller parades that met in Fælledparken, the city’s largest park. The Nørrebro Pride section attracted special attention because of the strict entrance requirements for its opening party: No whites or heterosexuals allowed; nobody with a hairstyle stolen from another culture either. About the policy, which sported a new acronym - QTIBIPOC - one puzzled observer asked, “Isn’t it illegal to exclude people on the basis of their sexuality and skin color?” Lars Henriksen, spokesperson for the official Copenhagen Pride, thought the policy was “super positive… It’s brilliant that some separatist spaces are created…. Some people feel insecure in what we’re doing.” 

Nørrebro Pride: Photo: Ólafur Steinar Rye Gestsson © Ritzau Scanpix.

Global citizen or authoritarian fellow traveler?

After winning the Olympic gold medal in badminton in a convincing drubbing of defending champion Yu Qi Shi, Viktor Axelsen broke into delirious tears of joy, prompting journalists and social media commentators to wax rhapsodic about the sight of a man crying in public. A couple of weeks later, Axelsen decided to move to Dubai (DK) because of its better training conditions. The Danish badminton organization was disappointed, and others note that the oil states like to use Western athletes for PR and asked Axelsen whether the Emirate’s Sharia legal system bothered him. He acknowledged the "shitstorm," maintaining that he’s become less concerned with what people outside his inner circle think of him.

Did you take communion from this guy?

Denmark isn't immune from the grisly sort of domestic terror that graces Anglo tabloids. “A Danish parish priest confesses to murdering wife and dissolving body in acid," reports The Local. Inspired by an episode of Breaking Bad, Thomas Gotthard attempted to get rid of his wife’s body in a feed barrel at an abandoned country estate. The barrel was too heavy to move, so he divided its contents into two smaller barrels, buried them, dug them up again, chopped the body into smaller pieces, and burned them. The police found hydrochloric acid and caustic soda in Gotthard’s house, along with suspicious google searches on his computer. “I have sent my life out into the darkness where I want to stay,” he said. “No one should feel sorry for me.”

Family values gone wrong

The Danish Supreme Court sustained a ban on the criminal gang Loyal to Familia (DK). The Court concurred that the gang was a citizens’ association and that its ordinary activities included the commission of wide-ranging and serious criminality. Citizens’ associations (foreninger), which are very common in Denmark, are protected by the Constitution. This was the first case against an association in almost 100 years and the first time a criminal gang has been declared illegal. LTF, which arose in the Nørrebro district in Copenhagen, was banned by the police in 2017 after a series of shootings, and there are still estimated to be around 100 members in its seven chapters in the country. The police do not expect the gang to suddenly stop its business but are encouraged that they have greater opportunities to prosecute its members. Prosecutors were encouraged to bring similar cases against other criminal gangs.

Summer news roundup: Mermaid cage fight

The New York Times reports that the estate of Edvard Eriksen, the sculptor who created the famous Little Mermaid that sits on her haunches in Langelinie Harbor – one of Copenhagen's biggest tourist draws – is suing the village of Asaa in northern Jutland for displaying another version of the Hans Christian Andersen figure. The heirs of the original sculptor not only demand compensation but insist that the “copy” be destroyed.

The original scuplture was a gift to the city of Copenhagen in 1913 from Carlsberg Brewery founder Carl Jacobsen. The sculptors' heirs have often sued artists over rights to the mermaid image, with some success, and the copyright expires in 2029. The Asaa Mermaid sculptor, Palle Mørk, denied deliberate appropriation. His mermaid is made of granite, whereas the Copenhagen version is made of bronze, and is chubbier. "I didn't think we destroyed art works in Denmark," said Mørk. "That's something the Taliban do." 

New Right chair promoting public-sector layoffs. Photo: Søren Bidstrup.

So sue me too!
Now Mermaid No. 3 is stealing attention. The libertarian Nye Borgerlige (New Right) party launched its biggest policy campaign, featuring cuts in taxes and social services (DK). It succeeded in positioning itself as not only the most anti-tax and most anti-immigration party but also the one with the hottest party leader, Pernille Vermund, shown above. She's "ready with a drastic plan," says the ad, "Will make big changes to Denmark." The main beneficiary of the campaign may be the Danish People’s Party, which had been losing voters to the New Right but now stands to reclaim some who didn't realize how much the party wants to reduce social welfare.

Combatting EU bureaucracy

The Danish People’s Party can use a boost because Morten Messerschmidt, its vice chair and “crown prince,” has been given a conditional six-month prison sentence for swindling EU funds (DK). The money had been intended for a conference in Skagen, Denmark, in 2015 on European issues involving MELD, an international (Euroskeptical) conservative confederation, but the conference apparently consisted only of the party’s usual summer meetings. The charges also included falsifying EU documents. Messerschmidt is known as a sharp debater, but his party colleagues' testimony at the extraordinary trial gave no support for his position. He will appeal the sentence.

Nursing a grudge

The government pronounced sentence on the two-month nurses’ strike (DK). With no progress in negotiations, it intervened and ordered the nurses back to work, causing some to doubt the continuing efficacy of the "Danish model" of labor relations. The hospitals were accumulating about two years of backlogs in elective surgery, and the nurses had exhausted their strike funds. The union never gained much public support for an additional wage increase. Perhaps they thought they would be rewarded for their heroic efforts during the pandemic, but people apparently had their enough of their own pandemic problems to worry about.

Male amnesia and bewitching crop tops

Is this the third or the fourth wave? It’s hard to keep track. No, I’m not talking about Covid. I’m referring to the latest resurgence of the #MeToo movement in Denmark. While the country should have been worrying about breakthrough infections from the delta variant or how to evacuate the army’s Afghan interpreters from Kabul, the problem of unwanted male attention toward women refuses to go away. The past couple of weeks saw a photo of Naser Khader, Member of Parliament, baring his shoulders, and others of celebrities and ordinary citizens baring their bellies. What’s going on? Lots, some of it stupid, some sad, and some comical.

Sofie Linde and husband in solidarity with schoolgirls on Instagram 

Swift justice
Khader was posting from a vacation in Syria, his homeland, that he was ready to end his sick leave from Parliament and get back to work. Many observers found the sunbathing look rather ill-conceived, considering Khader’s circumstances. He had taken a leave of absence in April after he threatened to go to the employers of several journalists who had been critical of him. In July came an investigative report (DK) that he had molested and harassed at least five women over a period of two decades, pressuring one to have sex with him and masturbating in front of another.

Last week the Conservative Party reported on the corroborating findings of its own internal investigation and promptly disowned Khader (DK). Khader, 58, whose family emigrated from Syria when he was 11, was a veteran politician. He entered Parliament with the Social Liberal Party in 2001, co-founded the New Alliance Party in 2007, and switched to the Conservatives in 2009. No matter which party he represented, he was always critical of the subjugation of women in Islamic communities. Khader dismisses and denounces all the charges against him.

Model offender
Kristian Hegaard was at the opposite stage of his career from Khader. Only 30 years old, this Social Liberal was the first proper Member of Parliament to be a wheelchair user. He was said to be a talented, conscientious, and promising legislator. Most people were taken by surprise when he announced that he was resigning from Parliament (DK) because he had learned that he had exhibited “offensive behavior” at a party function – “had learned” because Hegaard said that he was so drunk he couldn’t remember the events in question. 

Also in contrast to Khader, Hegaard was as contrite as possible, announcing that he would seek help to ensure that the behavior doesn’t recur. Some wondered how aggressive his actions could have been from his wheelchair, but he received praise for resigning immediately instead of taking a fake sick leave and staying on the public payroll. This kind of decision was not entirely novel for the Social Liberal Party. Morten Østergaard, its former chair, resigned in October 2020 because of inappropriate sexual conduct toward a colleague.

Khader and Hegaard were their parties' spokesperson for legal affairs. Seven of the 11 political parties represented in the Danish Parliament are led by women.

"Don't know much biology"
Meanwhile, in the town of Vejle, Jutland, the principal at Firehøje Elementary School banned “crop tops” (DK), half-blouses that expose the abdomen, because they were distracting the classes from their studies (elementary schools go up to ninth grade here). Feminist groups went into action against this assault on freedom of expression, launching #DeterBareMaver (“They’re only stomachs – a pun on “bare,” which means both “only” and “bare”). Celebrity supporters who bared their own waists in solidarity included TV presenter Sofie Linde, who had re-ignited #MeToo in August 2020 when she reported sexual harassment and threats from Danish Broadcasting Corporation management. 

“It’s not the girls’ responsibility that their principal and the boys in the class can’t concentrate when they see a navel,” wrote Linde on Instagram. Former Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt and current MPs also expressed their support, some by showing skin and others verbally. After this uproar, the Firehøje School board took stock of the situation and decided that the school did not have a ban on crop tops after all. Now, after a week all covered up, the kids can get back to their debate on the constitutionality of Denmark’s burqa ban. 

Coronavirus DK: Will it ever end?

Now that I’m finished with two book projects that have occupied most of the past year, I intend to resume posting to this blog. Although the topics will concern other things besides Covid, it may be useful to update the state of the pandemic here in light of the new surge and increased uncertainty around the world.

Denmark believes it is returning to normal. Vaccinations have been proceeding steadily, and a large majority of the adult population has now been fully vaccinated. Several test centers are being closed because they are no longer needed. The Social Democratic administration had been under pressure to ease restrictions on commercial and public behavior, and there is a consensus that the country won’t be subject to a lockdown again as others countries have been. Almost all the restrictions are being phased out (DK). Very few people wear masks in public and maintain social distance, almost all of them elderly

67% of Danes fully vaccinated; photo: Emil Helms / Ritzau Scanpix

Partying like it's 2019
Schools will open on schedule, with no requirement for masks. Masks are no longer required on public transportation. For indoor service, restaurants and bars require a “corona passport” documenting vaccination or a negative test, as do fitness centers and service businesses such as hairdressers. Limits on public gatherings and attendance at cultural and sporting events and church services have been raised. Nightclubs and discotheques are the only venues that are still closed. Travel restrictions were also eased during the summer holiday season. 

But the delta variant is interfering with a smooth transition back to pre-pandemic conditions. Infections and hospitalizations (DK) are rising again after dropping to very low levels at the end of June. They got a boost from the raucous crowds gathering to watch Denmark make it to semifinals of the European Cup soccer championship from mid-June to early July. The country now ranks in the top third of Europe (DK) in the recent infection rate.

There is a contingency plan (DK) to lockdown a county or an individual parish if it experiences an acute spike in cases: more than 20 cases; 1,000 infections per 100,000; and a positive results in more than 3% of tests. If it is closed, the area must be come under the limits for seven days before it reopens. There are no closures at present.

Covid-19 in Denmark, 19 August 2021

• Infections: yesterday 984; total 333,815 (below 200 daily in late June)
• Hospitalizations; yesterday 116 (below 30 in early July)
• ICU: yesterday 16
• Deaths: yesterday 0; total 2,562
• Positive test results: 1.60% (0.17% in June)
• Reproduction number: 1.0 (1.3 in July)
• Deaths per million: 442 (vs. USA 1,876; UK 1,930; Sweden 1,460; Norway 149)
• Infections per 100,000 in past week: 119 (vs. UK 300; France 260; Sweden 57; Germany 36)
• Vaccinations begun (first shot): 74.4% of the population
• Fully vaccinated: 67.3%

A new report from the State Serum Institute (DK) shows that the vaccines are still effective against both the delta and alpha variants in preventing infections and hospitalizations.  

New release: It doesn't matter, you'll be okay: A memoir

 Here comes volume two of my Danish chronicles.

Way back in 1988, I wrote the first draft of "Meet the Danes," a whimsical comedy based on an imaginary emigration to my wife's homeland. Six years later, we did move to Denmark, and this book tells what really happened.

From the back cover:

In a leafy suburban town in Denmark, Mark and Karin buy a picturesque old house that Karin dreams of remodeling—a home for their son, Andreas, to grow up in. Then Karin falls seriously ill.

Weathering a brutal cycle of rekindled hopes and devastating relapses, they persevere with the renovations, bedeviled by a barrage of accidents and problems that the project throws their way. But finishing the job takes on a new and bittersweet significance as Karin exhausts conventional treatments and they are forced to seek alternatives abroad.

"It doesn’t matter, you’ll be okay" is a poignant story of a family undergoing an ordeal that tests the limits of their resilience and resourcefulness, about the deep human need to create something lasting amidst the precarious uncertainties of life and death—and about how, amidst the shared moments of a lifetime, we become part of one another.

The two books differ greatly in the story they tell and in mood, but in a strange way, they're two sides of the same coin. I hope you will find it engaging and meaningful.

It's available as an eBook on Amazon.com (and in the Kindle Unlimited program) and in paperback on all Amazon sites and other online bookshops, including Saxo.com in Denmark.

Coronavirus DK: Comprehensive reopening plan

Unlike some of the larger Western European countries, Denmark has not been hit by a third wave of Covid-19 cases. The country is planning a full reopening by the end of May.

Update on the pandemic in Denmark:

• Infections have been rising slowly (DK) but steadily in the past month. Now they are around 600-700 per day.
• Hospitalizations ( approx. 200), ICU cases (40), and deaths (under 5 per day) have remained low in the same period.
• Deaths per million stand at 418, in comparison with the US (1,668), the UK (1,874), Sweden (1,135), and Norway (122).
• Testing has increased steadily to 180,000 per day. The positive ratio is 0.38%. The reproduction number has risen steadily this year from 0.7 to 1.1 earlier this month.
• Vaccinations have been delayed. 11.7% of the population has gotten the first dose, and 6.2% has gotten two doses. Large shipments are expected in April.

The unwanted vaccine. Photo: DADO RUVIC © Scanpix.

Return to normal?

Last week Parliament announced a comprehensive plan to relax restrictions (DK) over a six-week period beginning on April 6, in this order: the rest of schools and other educational institutions for part-time physical attendance; stores and shopping centers; outdoor service at restaurants; theaters, concert halls, and indoor service at restaurants; sports and other recreational activities. If the pandemic flares up again, the government reserves the right to postpone measures and implement local restrictions.

Some researchers warn that the reopening will cause cases to double. Nine cases of the Brazilian variant, P1 (DK), have been found recently, and authorities worry that it may be more infectious and less responsive to the vaccine than others. 

The suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine (DK) has been extended an additional three weeks, until April 15. Despite the European Medicines Agency’s recommendation to resume vaccinations, the Danish Health Authority says it needs more time to investigate the risk of blood clots. 

Men in Orange
A few lockdown protestors from the Men in Black movement have been given extraordinarily long sentences (DK) on the basis of section 81d of the criminal code on “crimes related to the Covid-19 epidemic.” These include the woman who urged protestors to “smash the city in a non-violent way” before a riot that resulted in injuries to several police officers. Other protestors have been charged for actions during the demonstrations, including the man who burned a photo of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in effigy on a poster carrying the slogan “She must be and will be put down” (that is, euthanized, an allusion to the culling of large numbers of mink in Denmark last month). Some of the left-wing parties who voted for section 81d are now saying that the proposed sentences are unduly harsh.

Coronavirus DK: Outbreak of B117 at schools

It’s a race between the slow-moving vaccines in the European Union bureaucracy and the opportunistic B117 mutation. 

Infections, hospitalizations, and deaths had been falling steadily for more than a month (DK) under the tight restrictions that are scheduled to run until February 28. The only easing since Christmas was opening schools up to the fourth grade. 

PM Mette Frederiksen burned in effigy at lockdown protest. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen.

Growing impatience with restrictions
As the situation improved, an increasing number of people have been agitating to allow stores, small businesses and schools to open up. Demonstrators from the Facebook group Men in Black have clashed with police and burned Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in effigy (DK) with the slogan “she must and shall be put down,” that is, euthanized. Another Facebook group planned a coordinated business opening in defiance of the rules.

There is a conspiracy theory element in the protests – people claiming that the pandemic is a hoax and a plot for pharma companies to profit and government to install permanent surveillance measures. But most lockdown skeptics seem to be motivated by economic hardship. Even rule-abiding retirees who don’t need get out and mix with people are getting restless. Last week the government announced that it would announce [sic] something about the restrictions this Wednesday, and many had anticipated further easing.

Now it's going after the children

Then two severe outbreaks occurred, one of them at a school in Kolding, Jutland (DK), where a case of the UK B117 mutation infected 67 people. Children had been thought to be largely resistant to the coronavirus, but it appears that the B117 mutation infects them more easily than the previous strains. Children do not usually become very sick, but they can become hidden superspreaders. 

The prevalence of the B117 mutation has been rising steadily and now accounts for more than 45% of cases. In the past two weeks, cases among young people under 20 were almost as high as for those 20-60. One-third of the 250 people infected in Kolding were under the age of 10. The municipality closed all the schools and day-care centers. It had wanted to test every resident age two and above in the coming week, but raised the threshold to 12.

Percentage of UK B117 coronavirus variant in Danish spot checks. 

Wildly optimistic vaccine prediction 

Meanwhile, the vaccine is still delayed. The government recently announced that it would be prepared to administer 400,000 vaccinations per day (DK). But at present only 10,000 people are being vaccinated per day, and the total vaccinated in two months is under 300,000. That is 5% of the population, which is still high by European standards. But the government apparently doesn’t buy the argument for First Doses First and has given second doses to 3%. People also ask why, in light of the delays in the EU plan, it hasn’t tried to buy the Russian vaccine directly.

The government had estimated that the entire population could get one dose by the end of May and a second by June 27. But if young people and children also need to be vaccinated, the process could go on through the summer. It also adds the standard warnings that after the vaccinations we will need to continue to take precautions, to see how long immunity from the vaccine lasts, and if an annual shot is needed, to see how the vaccine handles new mutations. There’s no return to normal on the calendar. 

Coronavirus DK: Restrictions extended until March

In a press conference yesterday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that Denmark will extend its tight pandemic restrictions (DK) an additional three weeks from February 7 to February 28. The main reason she gave was the B117 mutation: “We have seen how quickly the new mutation can bring things out of control. Therefore, we cannot ease the restrictions. Even though more people are being vaccinated, we must go forward carefully.” The measures include the closure of all restaurants, bars and retail businesses, except for supermarkets and pharmacies and a limit on gatherings to five persons. Frederiksen left open the possibility of allowing the youngest pupils, from kindergarten to fourth grade, to return to school before March.

PM Mette Frederiksen bringing bad news yet again. Photo: Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix.

.

The pandemic figures have been falling (DK) since the restrictions were put in place just before Christmas. Daily infections have dropped from around 3,000 to around 500; the percentage of positive tests from a peak of 4% to 0.6%; total hospitalizations from about 900 to 600; and the reproduction number from above 1.0 to 0.7. The percentage of infections deriving from the B117 mutation, however, has risen steadily to 13.%

Vaccine trouble
As in other European countries, the delivery of vaccines has been delayed (DK). Denmark is part of the European Union deal on Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines. The State Serum Institute estimates that the vaccination of groups with lower priority will come around five weeks later than originally scheduled, in April and May. The agency still hopes that everyone will be vaccinated before the end of June. It is pursuing a policy of giving people the second dose of the vaccine three weeks after the first instead of the First Doses First approach taken by some countries in which the second dose is postponed for months in order to give more people the first dose sooner. Thus far, 3.15% of the population have received the first dose and 0.64% have received two doses.

An increasing number of business owners and others are disappointed and angered by the extension. Around 10% of businesses are reported to have serious liquidity problems and are at risk of going bankrupt. In response, the government today announced a new aid package (DK) of loans and other measures worth DKK 170 billion (USD 27 billion). 

Travel scandals
Others are also becoming impatient with the restrictions. There have been a couple of minor scandals recently concerning violations of travel restrictions. Some people have taken to ski resorts in Austria (DK), one of the main hotspots one year ago, under the guise of pursing job opportunities. Last week, it was reported that 50 infected persons had entered Denmark from Dubai (DK) in January. Some 33 of them arrived after the January 9 requirement that passengers coming to Denmark be tested. They had all received negative test results in Dubai before boarding the flight, and there is suspicion of “irregularities” in the testing in Dubai. Some of the travelers were professional athletes and influencers who shared their trip on social media despite the restrictions on travel abroad. After this discovery, the Danish authorities suspended flights from Dubai to Denmark for five days.

After double overtime
But all isn’t doom and gloom. On Wednesday, at the World Handball Championships, the Danish men’s team beat host team Egypt by a score of 39-38 on the final penalty shot in “the most insane handball game in the history of the world,” according to the commentator Henrik Liniger. The team qualified for the semifinal against Spain, which you can watch this evening at 8:30 pm CET (2:30 pm EST) on dr.dk.

Danish reactions to Biden’s inauguration

 Today we take a break from disease and see what Danish politicians have to say about the changing of the guard in the White House. It might not be very surprising, but let’s indulge in a little celebration and relief. It’s been a long four years for Western Europe to watch its greatest ally go rogue and then descend into antidemocratic chaos. Here are the party leaders:

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (DK) of the Social Democratic party:

“I hope that President Biden will be a unifying force after the unrest and division that we have unfortunately seen grow in the United States.”

Jakob Ellemann-Jensen (DK) of the Liberal Party:

“Now the world will be a more decent place … I look forward to being able to recognize an America that takes global leadership and is engaged in its surroundings.”

Pia Olsen Dyhr (DK) of the Socialist People’s Party: 

“Such a festive day. It’s hard not to be enthusiastic.”

Sofie Carsten Nielsen (DK) of the Social Liberal party:

“American democracy is being challenged, and it will be a gigantic task to gather people together. But today I will allow myself to hope … We must speak out against populism - but not turn our backs on the people who pursue populism. For we must speak together and solve the problems that nurture discouragement and the experience of loss of control and distrust of the establishment.”

Pernille Skipper (DK) of the Red-Green Party, retweeting a thread with photos of “some of the weirdest & dumbest sh*t our failed dictator did…”:

“Now I dare again to make fun of him … Priceless”:

Former leader of the free world staring into the sun during a solar eclipse

On the significance for the world 

In an interview on Danish television (DK), Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Danish prime minister (from the right-wing Liberal Party) and NATO general secretary, was asked, “Is there anything about Trump’s tenure you will miss?”

“No, not a single thing. He will certainly go down in history as the worst president the United States has ever had. He created division in the US, and he weakened the free world outside of the country. . . . He leaves a more insecure world than the one he took over. So it is a great relief for us all that he is gone, and I look forward very much to Biden as president.”

Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod added:

“[Trump] dragged the United States out of the world at a time when it had the greatest need for American leadership … The United States has the best in the world and the worst in the world gathered together in one place. . . . And what we saw on January 6, that was one of the worst things in the world.”

Coronavirus DK: Riots, Danish style

Perhaps inspired by the MAGA mob that stormed the US Capitol building, a Danish group calling itself “Men in Black” held protest demonstrations in Copenhagen (DK) and Aalborg yesterday evening. The demonstrations had been announced in advance and were therefore legal. Demonstrations are the only exception to the limit on public gatherings. Several hundred people - indeed mostly attired in black, both guys and gals - met up at the Copenhagen City Hall Plaza around 7 p.m. to listen to speakers who led them in chants: “Freedom for Denmark! We have had enough!” 

The purpose of event was apparently to complain about lockdown restrictions, which have recently been tightened in Denmark, as they have nearly everywhere else. I say “apparently” because that was how it was described by more than one journalist on the scene. The police also reported that they recognized some figures from the “hooligan scene,” that is, soccer fans who fight with supporters of rival teams. 

Demonstrators at CPH City Hall Plaza. Photo: Jonas Moestrup / TV 2

At various times, the speakers expressed objections to the mask requirement and other restrictions, warned that the vaccine is dangerous, and asserted that the coronavirus crisis was a hoax (DK): “We are mad, we are tired, and we are about to go crazy. Where is that virus?” Individual protestors interviewed advocated the theory of a worldwide conspiracy led by Bill Gates and the pharma industry, claiming also that the Danish state had engineered the bankruptcy of small shops so that it could take them over for financial gain. In recent months there have been a few other demonstrations against restrictions, which have all been peaceful. 

“Smash the city in a non-violent way”
In the beginning, the crowd was content to light torches and listen to its leaders, who urged them on with a distinctly Danish moderation: “Are you ready to smash the city in a non-violent way?” The crowd might have had trouble interpreting that exhortation, perhaps unique in the history of insurrectionary war cries. They began shooting fireworks (which are legal only around New Year’s Eve), throwing beer bottles, and then marching down Strøget, the main pedestrian street in the commercial district. 

The police were well prepared for them, however. Vans full of them were waiting on Strøget with their batons drawn, and they drove the crowd back to City Hall Plaza. They announced over loudspeakers that the demonstration was over and people should disperse, “in the name of the Queen and the Law.” The crowd broke up into smaller groups and headed down side streets, with much confusion, taunting, and yelling. There seemed to be little direct fighting between the factions, although the demonstrators shot fireworks at police vans. 

Quick and painless
The demonstrators continued into the Nørrebro district, with the police following close after. The police arrested several people for fireworks violations, resisting arrest, and attacking officers. Smaller groups of up to one hundred coalesced at a few locations, and there were low-key confrontations. But by around 9:30 p.m., activity had quieted down and the police announced that it was “slowly putting the city to bed.”

The demonstrations in Aalborg were smaller and were dispersed even more quickly. A total of 23 people were arrested. No one was reported injured in either city. You can see several brief video clips at the links.