France deploys strong police presence to block 'freedom convoys' in Paris
The French government has deployed thousands of police in and around Paris to enforce a ban on vehicle convoys protesting against Covid restrictions and Emmanuel Macron. Inspired by Canadian truckers, protestors were camping out on the outskirts of Paris early Saturday after driving in convoys from across France.
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Close to 7,200 police and gendarmes "are being deployed over the next three days to enforce the ban on vehicle convoys," Paris police headquarters said on Friday.
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".
It showed off its 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.
#Manifestation 📢 | Engagés en soutien des forces mobiles, des engins spéciaux employés par la @prefpolice seront déployés à #Paris :
— Préfecture de Police (@prefpolice) February 11, 2022
🔵 Tracteurs anti-barricades pic.twitter.com/NT7kJ2M7Cg
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.
"If they block traffic or if they try to block the capital, we must be very firm about this," he insisted on France 2 television channel on Friday.
Early on Saturday the Prefecture de Police tweeted it had intercepted 50 vehicles on entry points to the capital.
#Manifestation | Interception par les forces de l'ordre de deux convois :
— Préfecture de Police (@prefpolice) February 12, 2022
➡️ 30 véhicules au niveau de la porte de Champerret
➡️ 20 véhicules au niveau de la porte Maillot
➡️ verbalisations en cours pic.twitter.com/TuUDiKJ0oq
Inspired by Canadian truckers paralysing border traffic with the United States, the demonstrators include anti-Covid vaccination activists, but also people angry at fast-rising energy prices.
Hundreds of cars, motorhomes and vans from Lille, Strasbourg, Chateaubourg and elsewhere stopped Friday evening at the gates of Paris.
Demands
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.
"People need to see us, and to listen to the people who just want to live a normal and free life," said 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.
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.
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Just two months ahead of presidential elections and with the government desperate to avoid violent scenes in the capital, Macron said Friday he understood the "fatigue" linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"This fatigue also leads to anger. I understand it and I respect it. But I call for the utmost calm," he told the Ouest-France newspaper.
Paris police have banned the gathering because of feared "public order disturbances" and said 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.
PARIS - Une partie du #ConvoidelaLiberte a tenté d’accéder à la capitale : ils sont bloqués par la police sur le périphérique. #ConvoisFrance2022 pic.twitter.com/rFhEZBJpkb
— Clément Lanot (@ClementLanot) February 12, 2022
Regular Saturday protest
Protestors are still allowed to demonstrate on foot.
"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," the prime minister said.
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.
"It's important that we don't interfere with other people on the roads," said one activist, Robin, on his way from Illkirch-Graffenstaden in the eastern Alsace region. "That way we'll keep the population on our side, like they did in Canada."
Some then want to travel on to Brussels for a "European convergence" of protesters planned there for Monday.
The government has expressed some sympathy for the protesters, with spokesman Gabriel Attal attributing their anger to "fatigue and weariness" after long-lasting Covid restrictions.
The government also announced Friday a further easing of Covid rules.
(with AFP)
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