The mobilization has begun.
While thousands of opponents of the vaccine pass want to "drive through Paris" on Saturday February 14 as part of a citizen action called "freedom convoys" inspired by that of Canadian truck drivers in Ottawa, a first convoy of around thirty demonstrators who were trying to reach the capital in their vehicles were intercepted this Monday morning between Essonne and Seine-et-Marne "calmly" by the police.
Read also“Freedom convoy”: how antivax are organized to converge on Brussels on February 14
This event takes place in a particular context: many demonstrators, gathered in the Facebook and Telegram groups "Convoy France officiel" which already have 23,000 members, are trying to organize a large-scale national action for "respect for the freedoms and rights fundamentals”.
Convoys announced from Bayonne, Nice and Strasbourg in particular
These demonstrators must rally Paris Friday evening - no specific place of regrouping was mentioned - before a possible "European convergence" Monday, February 14 in Belgium, in Brussels.
Six “convoys” of carpooling or individuals on board their own vehicles are already announced on Wednesday, departing in particular from Bayonne, Nice, Strasbourg or Cherbourg.
Is it a blocking action like in Canada?
“Everyone is free”, but Convoy France does not directly call for regrouping or blocking action, insisted on Sunday in a video chat Marisa, spokesperson for this new movement.
“This initiative is taken seriously by the authorities”, explained for his part a police source who announces “vigilance devices”.
"However, the assessment of the potential threat is still the subject of analysis by the intelligence services, given the electoral context and the desire to play mimicry with the Canadian movement," added this source.
In Canada, a protest movement initiated by truckers, for whom the vaccine is compulsory in order to cross the border with the United States, has paralyzed the capital Ottawa for more than a week.
Faced with a situation "out of control", the town hall of the city declared a "state of emergency".