French ban freedom convoy protest as Police in Paris plan to take control of a demonstration in the French capital this weekend.
The protest is part of a so-called “Freedom Convoy”, inspired by the Canadian truckers’ protest against COVID restrictions in North America.
The authorities claim the movement’s objective is to “block the capital” from Friday before heading to Brussels for a wider protest, where the authorities have also forbidden demonstrating motorists from entering the city.
Measures will be put in place to “prevent the blocking of roads, issue fines and arrest those who break this ban,” the police headquarters said in a statement (in French). The ban will last from Friday until Monday.
Thousands of opponents of France’s vaccine pass have said on social media they intend to converge on Paris.
French ban freedom convoy as government play down the protests
A spokesman for the French government, Gabriel Attal plays down the french restrictions.” France is probably one of the countries in Europe which has taken the least restrictive measures”.
On Wednesday several convoys left Nice, Bayonne and Perpignan in the south, aiming to reach the capital by Friday night. There have been calls to join Brussels for a “European convergence” scheduled for Monday.
The protesters’ calls appear to echo the 2018 “yellow vest” (“gilets jaunes“) movement when thousands took the streets in opposition to unpopular fuel taxes. Demonstrations quickly mushroomed into a larger protest movement.
Yellow Vest Paris today are on the ground Convoi de la Liberte
The Paris police statement issued a reminder that obstructing traffic can be punished by a two-year prison sentence, a €4,500 fine, and other measures enabling vehicles to be impounded and driving licences suspended. The movement has been dubbed Convoi de la Liberte on social media.
French protesters rally against COVID health pass
“The organizer of a banned demonstration can be punished by six months imprisonment and a fine of €7,500,” the préfecture said, adding that those taking part, despite the French ban freedom convoy, could receive a fine of €135.
The French government was aware of a general weariness with the pandemic and the restrictions, spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday. But they are more concerned with the movement of the Yellow Vest Paris today.
Canadian trucker protests have become a global movement
Weeks of protests in the Canadian capital Ottawa have led to a state of emergency being declared, while the blockade of a bridge linking Canada with the US city of Detroit threatens to disrupt the North American car industry.
The mayor of Canada’s capital declared a state of emergency as protesters opposed to COVID-19 restrictions continued to paralyze Ottawa’s downtown.
Thousands of protesters descended in Ottawa again on the weekend, joining the thousands that remained since last weekend.
Protesters in Canada are demanding changes. They have said they won’t leave until all mandates and COVID-19 restrictions are gone.
Macron is not taking any chances
Macron is taking no chances with another protest on his hands. Especially with the elections looming the French president, needs to provide the least amount of ammunition for his challengers to use.
Gabriel Attal the spokesperson for the French government said “There are more than a few hundred thousand people who are fed up with living with this virus and, in France as everywhere in the world, political movements, often radical, have sought to capitalise on this weariness.”
The French authorities have said they are considering lifting the vaccine pass by the end of March or the beginning of April if the pandemic recedes, which will coincide with the French elections.
France goes to the polls in April for the presidential election. Emmanuel Macron currently leads in opinion polls, though he is yet to declare formally that he will run for a second term.
The fallout out from the Yellow Vests Paris today protests Convoi de la Liberte could decide how his fate unfolds.
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FRANCE – Farmers and truckers have joined the freedom convoy in Lyon. It is 11 p.m. and hundreds of vehicles continue to arrive. #ConvoidelaLiberte #ConvoiFrance2022 #GiletsJauneshttps://t.co/RljIfJ65hT pic.twitter.com/1rd5r5lBSK
— EU NEWS 🇪🇺 (@wtx_EU_news) February 11, 2022