Police halt first convoy heading to Paris as 3,300 vehicles approach in protest over Covid rules and energy price rises despite ban by authorities determined to stop Canadian-style city blockade
- Paris police said 50 vehicles were stopped at two entry points as they tried to get inside the French capital
- Inspired by Canadian truckers, demonstrators are protesting Covid rules, but also fast-rising energy prices
- Some drivers parked about 50 miles (80km) from Paris left at around 5am local time, according to messages
- It follows hundreds of cars, motorhomes and vans from Lille and elsewhere stopping at city’s gates last night
Police clashed with the first convoy heading to Paris this morning as 3,300 vehicles approached in a protest over Covid rules and energy price rises, defying a ban by authorities who are determined to stop a blockade of the city.
Thousands of ‘freedom convoy’ protesters encamped on the outskirts of the French capital and 50 vehicles were stopped at two entry points as they tried to get inside, the city’s police office said on Twitter.
Inspired by Canadian truckers paralysing border traffic with the United States, the demonstrators are protesting coronavirus restrictions, but also fast-rising energy prices.
Some drivers parked on the fringes of Chartres, about 50 miles (80km) from Paris, left at around 5am local time (4am GMT), according to messages.
One said the aim was to ‘create a mass of vehicles that the forces of order would find impossible to contain’.
Today’s protest follows hundreds of cars, motorhomes and vans from Lille, Strasbourg, Chateaubourg and elsewhere stopped at the gates of Paris last night, but a police source said no convoy had entered the capital.
Police stop ‘freedom convoy’ protesters along a street this morning in Paris, France. Inspired by Canadian truckers paralysing border traffic with the United States, the demonstrators are protesting coronavirus restrictions, but also rising energy prices
French gendarmes patrol at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, early this morning as convoys of protesters arrive in the capital. Some hope to blockade the city the city in opposition to Covid-19 restrictions
A ‘freedom convoy’ protester plays an instrument while waiting in traffic along a street early on Saturday morning in Paris, France as numerous convoys head toward the French capital
Armoured police vehicles park by the Arc de Triomphe as they await the arrival of multiple ‘Freedom Convoy’s’ this morning in Paris. The city’s police office said 50 vehicles were stopped at two entry points as they tried to get inside
One claimed that, ‘faced with several thousand vehicles capable of stopping or being on the move’, the police would not be able to do much.
Nearly 7,200 police and gendarmes are being deployed over the next three days to enforce the ban on vehicle convoys, Paris police headquarters said.
The prefect of the Paris police, Didier Lallement, said they had created a temporary car pound which, together with dozens of tow trucks, will ‘put an end to any blockage’.
Police showed off their anti-blockage arsenal on Twitter, publishing photographs of loader tractors for the removal of barricades as well as trucks equipped with cranes or water cannon.
Gendarmerie armoured vehicles have also been deployed in the streets of the capital for the first time since the ‘yellow vest’ protests at the end of 2018.
Prime Minister Jean Castex vowed to remain steadfast, saying: ‘If they block traffic or if they try to block the capital, we must be very firm about this.’
Police stop ‘freedom convoy’ protesters along a street in Paris this morning. Some drivers parked on the fringes of Chartres, about 50 miles (80km) from Paris, left at around 5am local time (4am GMT), according to messages
Just two months ahead of presidential elections and with the government desperate to avoid violent scenes in the capital, Macron said on Friday that he understood the ‘fatigue’ linked to the Covid pandemic (police stop protesters on a street today)
The protesters are demanding a withdrawal of the government’s vaccine pass, which is required for access to many public spaces, and more help with their energy bills (police stop ‘freedom convoy’ members along a street today)
Police stop members of a ‘freedom Convoy’ along a street this morning in Paris, France. Today’s protest follows hundreds of cars, motorhomes and vans from Lille, Strasbourg, Chateaubourg and elsewhere stopped at the gates of Paris last night
Police estimated 3,300 vehicles were involved in the various convoys by Friday afternoon.
They are demanding a withdrawal of the government’s vaccine pass, which is required for access to many public spaces, and more help with their energy bills.
Lisa, a 62-year-old retired health worker who joined a convoy of more than 1,000 vehicles leaving Chateaubourg in the western Brittany region early Friday, said: ‘People need to see us, and to listen to the people who just want to live a normal and free life.’
Like other protesters, Lisa has been active in the ‘yellow vest’ movement that erupted over a fuel tax hike before becoming a platform for other complaints against President Emmanuel Macron.
Police showed off their anti-blockage arsenal on Twitter, publishing photographs of loader tractors for the removal of barricades as well as trucks equipped with cranes or water cannon
Gendarmerie armoured vehicles have also been deployed in the streets of the capital for the first time since the ‘yellow vest’ protests at the end of 2018
The prefect of the Paris police, Didier Lallement, said they had created a temporary car pound which, together with dozens of tow trucks, will ‘put an end to any blockage’.
Nearly 7,200 police and gendarmes are being deployed over the next three days to enforce the ban on vehicle convoys, Paris police headquarters said. Pictured: Armoured police vehicles drive along the Champs Elysees on Saturday morning)
Armoured police vehicles park by the Arc de Triomphe as they await the arrival of multiple ‘Freedom Convoys’ early this morning in Paris, France. Numerous convoys have been headed toward the French capital since Wednesday
Just two months ahead of presidential elections and with the government desperate to avoid violent scenes in the capital, Macron said on Friday that he understood the ‘fatigue’ linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He told the Ouest-France newspaper: ‘This fatigue also leads to anger. I understand it and I respect it. But I call for the utmost calm.’
Police banned the gathering yesterday because of feared ‘public order disturbances’, saying protesters who tried to block roads would face fines or arrest.
The order prohibiting the assembly of convoys was upheld on Friday by the courts, which rejected two appeals.
Anti-vaccine and ‘yellow vest’ activist Sophie Tissier said: ‘It’s a betrayal. The basis of the order is not respectful of the law, of the freedom to demonstrate.’
Police (pictured in Paris, France, yesterday) banned the gathering because of feared ‘public order disturbances’, saying protesters who tried to block roads would face fines or arrest
Heavily armoured vehicles lined the historic Champs Elysees avenue in Paris on Friday evening as the French capital braced itself for the arrival of thousands of ‘Freedom Convoy’ truckers who plan to blockade the city
A protester holds a sign referring to Paul Eluard’s poem ‘Liberte’ (Freedom) during a rally at Place Denfert-Rochereau in Paris on February 11, 2022, as convoys of protesters are expected to arrive in the French capital
Paris is bracing itself for chaos as an estimated 2,000 vehicles were understood to be closing in on the French capital late on Friday evening. Pictured: Two protestors cheer on a haulier who is part of the ‘Freedom Convoy’ near Le Mans, France
Groups of protesters had started gathering near roads in the French capital on Friday night as the arrival of multiple ‘Freedom Convoys’ was expected from all across the country
But the Prime Minister of France said: ‘The right to demonstrate and to have an opinion are a constitutionally guaranteed right in our republic and in our democracy. The right to block others or to prevent coming and going is not.’
Refuting any desire to block the capital, the demonstrators were hoping to swell the ranks of the regular Saturday protests against the government’s vaccine pass.
Robin, on his way from Illkirch-Graffenstaden in the eastern Alsace region, said: ‘It’s important that we don’t interfere with other people on the roads. That way we’ll keep the population on our side, like they did in Canada.’
Some want to then travel to Brussels for a ‘European convergence’ of protesters planned there for Monday.
Phil, a 58-year-old on his way by truck from Brittany, said his refusal to get vaccinated had created ‘upheaval’ in his family and work relations, adding: ‘When you join a demonstration you feel less alone.’
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