The anti-sanitary measures demonstrations that have appeared in Canada, where truckers are paralyzing the capital Ottawa, are spreading to several countries, including France where convoys are at the gates of Paris on Saturday morning. Overview.
- In Canada, hundreds of trucks block the streets
Initiated at the end of January by Canadian truckers who denounced the obligation to vaccinate to cross the border with the United States, the movement which was baptized “Convoy of freedom” quickly turned into a protest against health measures as a whole. in Canada and, for some protesters, against the government of Justin Trudeau. In the federal capital Ottawa, hundreds of trucks have been blocking the streets for two weeks. After Ottawa on Sunday, a state of emergency was declared Friday across Ontario.
These protests have spread to other major Canadian cities (Toronto, Winnipeg, Quebec…) as well as to three border axes with the United States, with the objective of hitting the economy. In particular, they blocked the Ambassador Bridge, which connects the Canadian city of Windsor to Detroit in the United States, crucial for the automotive industry as well as for American hospitals, where many Canadian nurses work. The Superior Court of Ontario ordered the lifting of this blockade on Friday and the police positioned themselves on Saturday morning near the bridge to dislodge the demonstrators.
Among the promoters of the movement are several militants of the Maverick Party – a political organization, marginal and embryonic, militant for the independence of the western provinces -, as well as Canada Unity, founded by James Bauder, which publicly supported the theses of the QAnon conspiratorial movement and called the Covid-19 “the biggest political scam in history”. “All options are on the table” to end the convoys, Justin Trudeau said on Friday.
- In France, a movement close to “yellow vests”
In France, thousands of anti-vaccination passes, which entered into force on January 24, or opponents of the government, who camped at the gates of the capital, took to the road again on Saturday morning in cars, motorhomes and vans to enter Paris and demonstrate despite the ban by the police headquarters, determined to prevent any blockage. Around 2 p.m., more than a hundred vehicles had reached the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, motorists, some now on foot, waved flags or chanted “freedom”. The situation became tense: tear gas was used.
Two months before the presidential election, supporters of this movement, inspired by events in Canada, also claim to be “yellow vests”, the popular mobilization of 2018-2019, triggered by a rise in gasoline prices which had turned into a revolt against President Emmanuel Macron. The French president called on Friday “for the greatest calm”.
- In New Zealand, anti-vaccine demonstrations
In New Zealand, anti-vaccine protesters have been camping outside Parliament since Tuesday, in a “Freedom Camp”. On Thursday, the police tried to disperse them, without success, giving rise to violent clashes. More than 120 people were arrested. The number of protesters rose from around 250 at the start to nearly 1,500 on Friday.
- In Austria, the beginning of a “freedom convoy”
In Austria, the police announced on Thursday the ban on “freedom convoys”, citing an “unacceptable” nuisance, while several hundred vehicles had planned to converge on Friday towards the center of Vienna as well as near a large public park.
- In Belgium, the convoy prohibited
The authorities announced Thursday to prohibit access to Brussels of a convoy expected Monday in the Belgian capital, according to a call circulating on social networks which evokes a “convergence” from all over Europe.
- In the United States, we put pressure on Canada
The United States has asked Canada to use “federal powers” to lift the blockades at the border of the two countries. The White House says it has been notified of the organization of a “freedom convoy” in Washington in early March and ensures “to take all necessary measures to ensure that this convoy does not disrupt commerce or transport, and does not affect not the work of the federal government, law enforcement and relief.”
The convoys have received support from conservative US officials, from Texas Senator Ted Cruz, calling the protesters “heroes” and “patriots”, to former President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.