Protest convoys in Paris
Police arrest nearly 100 demonstrators
02/13/2022, 11:00 a.m
Following the example of Canadian truckers, convoys are forming in France to protest against the Corona measures. They even reach the Champs-Elysées in Paris – but the police intervene.
The Paris police arrested 97 people in the banned protest convoys of opponents of the corona restrictions in the French capital on Saturday. In addition, 513 warnings were issued, according to a balance sheet from the police prefecture. The officials are still on duty to prevent the city from being blocked by the self-proclaimed “freedom convoys”, the police said on Twitter.
According to this, around 7,500 police officers were mobilized for the period from Friday to Monday. Thousands of demonstrators from all over France had driven cars, mobile homes and vans to the outskirts of Paris in the past few days to join the protest convoy. Among the participants are opponents of vaccination certificates, supporters of the “yellow vest” movement, but also people who are generally protesting against the government.
On Saturday afternoon, the demonstrators managed to drive onto the Champs-Elysées on foot and with more than a hundred vehicles, despite a police ban. However, the protesters failed to paralyze the capital. The police broke up the illegal demonstration with tear gas.
Inspired by Canadian truckers
On the night of Sunday, officials “dispersed” groups of the last participants in the protests around the Champs-Elysées and in the Bois de Boulogne, the police prefecture said. Among those arrested is Jérôme Rodrigues, one of the symbolic figures of the “yellow vest” movement. According to the Interior Ministry, 32,100 demonstrators across France took part in approved rallies against the Corona measures on Saturday, almost 7,600 of them in Paris.
The so-called freedom convoys were inspired by the current protest by Canadian truck drivers, who have been largely paralyzing the capital Ottawa with a blockade for two weeks.