They did not block the capital as they had hoped, but managed to attract thousands of people to Paris. The so-called freedom convoys are converging on Strasbourg and Brussels on Monday. They want to be seen, to be heard. This mobilization is inspired by the Canadian movement, which has been blocking the streets of Ottawa for more than two weeks.
It is a heterogeneous movement with various demands. The opponents of the vaccine and the health pass were joined by ordinary people, exasperated by rising gas or electricity bills, by the price of fuel, and by a certain arrogance of the elites. Two months before the presidential election, some are demanding the resignation of the government and the head of state, the dissolution of parliament. Politicians and trade unionists are – as at the time of the yellow vests – overwhelmed by a movement born on social networks. Do the freedom convoys illustrate a real break between the people and their representatives? Can they structure themselves? Are we witnessing the birth of a global protest or the simple result of the virality of information via social networks?
Decryption with:
Marie Jauffret Roustidesociologist, researcher at theInserm and at Center for the Study of Social Movements (CEMS) of the’EHESS