AUSTRALASIA

New Zealand (Security threat level – 1): At approximately 1145 local time (2245 UTC) on 9 November 2021, several thousand demonstrators from the Freedoms and Rights Coalition gathered in front of the Parliament building in the capital Wellington to protest vaccine mandates and coronavirus-related lockdown restrictions. Reports indicate that the protesters initially convened at the Te Ngakau Civic Square and marched through Wellington before congregating in front of the Parliament building. Although the protest ended at approximately 1300 local time, remaining demonstrators reportedly threw tennis balls at news reporters and police officers. Security forces blocked off all entrances to the Parliament grounds and formed a barricade in front of the entrance to the Parliament building to prevent protesters from entering. The demonstrators threatened a nationwide “gridlock” within major cities if the government does not meet their demands to ease vaccine mandates and lift lockdowns.

EUROPE

France (Security threat level – 3): At approximately 0620 local time (0530 UTC) on 8 November 2021, a knife-wielding assailant attacked three police officers outside a police station in Cannes. After the attacker stabbed one officer, who was saved by his bulletproof vest and did not sustain serious injuries, another officer shot and killed the attacker. Officials stated that the assailant was an Algerian national in the country legally who had no known links to militant groups, although he reportedly shouted Islamist slogans during the attack. Authorities have not identified a possible motive for the attack but they are currently not investigating it as terrorism.

Poland / Belarus (Security threat levels – 2 / 3): As of 9 November 2021, a standoff between Polish security personnel and migrants attempting to enter Poland via Belarus is ongoing along the Poland-Belarus border. According to Polish officials, at least 3,000 migrants – mostly from the Middle East and Asia – are camped along the border, primarily near the Kuznica border crossing. Security personnel reported that they had stopped over 300 attempted entries on 10 November and had detained 17 people. The Polish government and European officials claim that the Belarusian government is facilitating the migrants’ attempts to enter the EU in retaliation for sanctions levied against Belarus following the August 2020 presidential election in Belarus, in which incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won his sixth consecutive term; critics claim that the result was fraudulent. Anecdotal reports from migrants claim that after arriving in Belarus, security forces transport them to the border then coerced them into crossing the border into Poland. Belarusian authorities deny forcing the migrants to cross the border.