Freedom Convoy scattered as European cities clamp down

Copycat Freedom Convoy motorist demonstrators inspired by a Canadian truckers protest have been thwarted from gathering in large numbers this week as European cities headed them off with bans and police checkpoints.

Authorities in Austria, Belgium and France moved to ban the protest and avoid a repeat of the grinding gridlock caused by the demonstration on key road-trade routes between Canada and the United States.

The protest, which began in opposition to vaccine mandates for truck drivers and has drawn in fringe and far-right elements, caught the imagination of some in Europe opposed to Covid-19 policies to promote vaccination and to reduce the spread of the disease.

In France, it was taken up by entrenched anti-Covid-19 measures and yellow-vest protest groups, and motorists converged on Paris on Saturday, honking and brandishing French flags. Police prevented most of the convoy from entering the city, but a few dozen reached the Champs-Élysées and were ultimately dispersed with tear gas.

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Public order

Protesters vowed to continue on to Brussels and co-ordinated over messaging apps to organise the trip, spreading the word to conceal protest banners and flags as Belgian authorities moved to ban the demonstration.

Brussels' regional leadership said the measures were taken so the protest would "impact public order in the capital as little as possible", while city mayor Philippe Close said the motorists would not be allowed to "take the capital hostage".

Police halted vehicles with French number plates along motorway routes, and worked to slow and divide the protesters through checkpoints, barriers and diversions set up to keep the convoy away from the city’s central areas.

Protest on foot

A modest group were gathered in a parking area in the north of the city that was sanctioned as a protest area, while demonstrators were given the option to freely proceed into the city to mount their protest on foot. The fragmented protest soon petered out.

Checkpoints were also set up around Strasbourg, and security at its European institutions was beefed up after protesters indicated they would take their concerns to the sitting of the European Parliament in the French city this week.

The protests have fed into lingering frustration towards Covid-19 measures and anger over increases in the cost of living, and authorities are keen to avoid a yellow-vest-style movement that causes mass disruption on the roads.

The Canadian protest has also inspired copycat demonstrations in Israel, Australia and New Zealand.