WINDSOR, Canada, Feb 13 (Reuters) – The evacuation by Canadian police of protesters blocking the Ambassador Bridge at the border with the United States appeared to have come to a halt on Saturday, as a court order ordered an end to this movement.
Traffic has been interrupted for five days on this bridge, which is usually the busiest land link between Canada and its southern neighbor and on which the supply of spare parts for several auto factories in the Detroit area depends in large part.
Although Canadian police managed to push back the demonstrators at the entrance to the bridge, more and more people were pouring into the area and evacuation operations seemed to have stalled.
The movement of “freedom convoys” in Canada, which began in the federal capital, Ottawa, with the mobilization of truck drivers opposed to the obligation to vaccinate imposed for crossing the American border, entered its 16th on Saturday. day.
It has since turned into a protest movement against restrictions linked to the coronavirus epidemic, with new demonstrators joining it in light vehicles.
During a meeting with his advisers, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed that the border posts could not remain closed and that all scenarios for ending the crisis were being considered, shows a report published on Saturday evening by his cabinet. .
(Report Kayla Tarnowski and Carlos Osorio, written by Denny Thomas; French version Camille Raynaud)