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Germany ekes some fun out of a quiet Carnival

Associated Press

Tags: Arts, entertainment, Alexey Navalny, Donald Trump, politics, Vladimir Putin, Government, Angela Merkel
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A reveller stands in front of a political carnival float depicting Russia's President Vladimir Putin fighting with opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the streets of Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional 'Rosenmontag' carnival parade are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A political carnival float depicting Russia's President Vladimir Putin fighting with opposition Alexei Navalny is rolled out to be shown in the streets in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional; carnival parades are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A political carnival float depicting former US president Donald Trump is rolled out to be shown in the streets in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional; carnival parades are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A political carnival float depicting the coronavirus vs the carnival virus is rolled out to be shown in the streets when the traditional carnival parade was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A political carnival float depicting German chancellor Angela Merkel and her possible successor Governor Armin Laschet is rolled out to be shown in the streets of Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional; carnival parades are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A young carnival reveller dressed as a clown holds an umbrella in the empty old town in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional; carnival parades are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A political carnival float depicting conspiracy theorists is rolled out to be shown in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional 'Rosenmontag' carnival parade are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A political carnival float depicting German chancellor Angela Merkel and her possible successor Governor Armin Laschet is rolled out to be shown in the streets of Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional 'Rosenmontag' carnival parade are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A reveller stands in front of political carnival floats to be shown in the streets of Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional 'Rosenmontag' carnival parade are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A political carnival float depicting climate and coronavirus crisis is driving in the streets of Duesseldorf Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional 'Rosenmontag' carnival parade are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A lonely man looks in front of the town hall at the empty old town of Duesseldorf Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional; carnival parades are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A young carnival reveller dressed as a clown holds an umbrella in the empty old town in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional; carnival parades are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A political carnival float depicting former US president Donald Trump is pulled through the streets in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional; carnival parades are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

A reveller stands in front of a political carnival float depicting Russia's President Vladimir Putin fighting with opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the streets of Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional 'Rosenmontag' carnival parade are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

DUESSELDORF – A few Carnival floats poking fun at the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin, former U.S. President Donald Trump, German politicians and the fight against coronavirus made their way Monday through the largely empty streets of Duesseldorf, which would usually be the site of raucous celebrations.

Parades, street festivals and other large gatherings have all been cancelled this year.

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But organizers in Duesseldorf, one of the German Rhineland's main Carnival strongholds, didn't want to let Rose Monday in 2021 go completely without the traditional caricatures of current events.

They sent eight floats through the city — separately, rather than in a parade, and on routes that were kept secret in advance to prevent crowds from gathering.

“It's a small signal that we're alive,” float builder Jacques Tilly told the German news agency dpa.

This year's offerings included a depiction of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny kicking a much larger Putin, both dressed in judo outfits, and a caricature of Trump on a spit over a fire marked with the words “Make America Great Again!"

There was also a float showing the Earth trying to hold off a virus while a monster painted with the word “Climate” rears up behind it. Another depicted the brain flying out of the head of an activist against coronavirus restrictions.

Armin Laschet, the newly chosen leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's party and a contender to succeed her after an election in September, was depicted as Merkel — a reference to the two politicians' perceived ideological closeness — with the words “Carry on Merkeling with Armin Laschet.”

One of Germany’s first superspreader events stemmed from a Carnival celebration in a town west of Cologne in February 2020, where many people came into contact with an infected man. This year authorities are taking no chances, with public consumption of alcohol banned in some places.

Germany has seen over 65,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths during the pandemic and just put restrictions on its borders with Austria and the Czech Republic to keep out the new virus variants circulating in those countries.

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— Follow all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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