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Ottawa (AFP) – The trucker-led protest against anti-Covid health measures in Canada has inspired similar movements as far away as Europe and New Zealand.
As Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has “all options on the table” to end the blockade of border crossings between the United States and Canada, and thousands more vehicles head for Paris , here is an overview.
– Canada’s ‘freedom convoy’ –
The Canadian convoy dubbed “Freedom Convoy” started in late January in the west of the country, following the anger of truckers who had to be vaccinated against covid-19, tested or isolated in order to cross the border between the United States. United States and Canada.
While a vast majority of truckers across the country are vaccinated, a group of angry and like-minded anti-vaccine truckers jammed the center of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, in a loud and sometimes rowdy protest over the past last two weeks.
The movement has grown into a much larger protest against health regulations against the pandemic and, similarly, against the Trudeau government.
Hundreds of vehicles are still parked on Parliament Hill, under Trudeau’s offices.
Over the past week, they have blocked three major border crossings with the United States, including the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, used daily by more than 40,000 travelers and trucks carrying goods worth an average of $323 million. .
This caused particular chaos in the economy. Major automakers have been forced to cut production at several plants in the region.
The province of Ontario, the epicenter of the protests, declared a state of emergency on Friday and Trudeau stressed that “everything is on the table as this illegal activity must be stopped.”
The US Department of Homeland Security has asked Canada to use “federal powers” to remedy the situation.
– New Zealand follows –
In New Zealand, activists spent four days camping in Wellington’s Parliament Gardens during a protest that began on Tuesday as a replica of the Canadian convoy.
However, this led to clashes with police, leaving over 120 detained.
The number of demonstrators rose to nearly 1,500 on Friday as officers scaled back efforts to break up protests.
– France: Protests have spread across Europe –
Thousands of vehicles approached Paris on Friday in convoys from all over France, with many participants hoping to block the capital to protest against Covid vaccination rules and other health restrictions.
The French protesters left from cities like Bayonne, Perpignan and Lyon.
Paris police tried to stop the protests, saying they would ban convoys and prevent roads from being blocked, threatening heavy fines or even prison.
Belgium
Belgian authorities also said they would ban convoys due to converge on Brussels on Monday, according to a call for protests circulating on social media.
-Austria-
Meanwhile, Austrian police announced a ban on any ‘freedom convoy’ following reports that several hundred vehicles were also converging in Vienna and near a large public park in the Austrian capital.
United States
American defenders of Canadian protesters took to social media to announce the ‘people’s convoy’ of truckers and ‘all freedom-loving Americans’ to gather in East Los Angeles for a two-day rally, at from Thursday March 4, before taking the highways. , possibly to Washington.
© 2022 AFP
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