Drivers from several French cities took off for Paris and then Brussels to demand an end to COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine requirements.
Protesters are rallying against restrictions and vaccine requirements
Protesters in France began on Wednesday what they are calling the "freedom convoy," with the ultimate goal of converging around Paris and Brussels, to demand an end to COVID-19 restrictions.
The vehicular protest was inspired by the ongoing demonstrations in Canada, where a sizeable group of truck drivers have blocked a border crossing to protest a COVID-19 vaccine mandate imposed in January by Canada and the US.
France's convoy took off from several cities. In the Mediterranean city of Nice, some 200 people motorcycles and private cars set off for Paris and Brussels. Many of them are upset about the government's health pass, a vaccination requirement that has shut out the unvaccinated from public life.
Residents of France are obliged to show the health pass, as proof of COVID vaccination, to go to restaurants, movie theaters or ride a train, among other activities.
"Lots of people don't understand why a vaccine pass is in force in France," one participant and coordinator of the event in Nice told Reuters news agency.
"Our work is to communicate to Europe that putting in place a health pass until 2023 is something the majority of our fellow citizens cannot understand," the man added.
The protests come as France is slowly emerging from its omicron wave of the virus and two months before a heavily contested general election.
Organized on social media
A total of six "convoys" have been organized so far. Aside from Nice, residents from Bayonne, Strasbourg and Cherbourg, among other cities, have taken part.
The demonstrators hope to form a major rally in Paris on Friday evening and Brussels on Monday, but organizers have not provided many details on what it will all entail.
The movement has been organized primarily through social media, using the platforms Facebook and Telegram, with each boasting some 23,000 followers, the AFP news agency reported.
"We are just tired of it all. We want to go where we want without being asked for a vaccine pass. At least with this action, I am doing something," an independent truck driver, who joined the protest in the city of Perpignan, told Reuters.
Authorities are aware of the freedom convoy. Police sources told AFP that they were already planning "security measures" ahead of the convoy's convergence, to avoid disturbances.
jcg/fb (Reuters, AFP)
Clashes, arrests as New Zealand police clear Covid protest
PUBLISHED : 10 FEB 2022
WRITER: AFP
"I never thought I'd see this in New Zealand."
But locals in the capital have complained about being abused for wearing masks and several businesses near parliament have closed after staff were harassed for enforcing vaccine mandates.
Wellington City Council, which also took a low-key approach in the protest's early days, said its parking officers would begin issuing tickets to convoy vehicles blocking city streets.
New Zealand requires mandatory Covid vaccinations for people working in sectors such as health, law enforcement, education and defence, with those who refuse the jab facing the sack.
Proof of vaccination must also be shown to enter restaurants, sports events and religious services.
The "Freedom Convoy" of truckers in Canada has gridlocked the capital Ottawa since late last month, prompting city authorities to declare a state of emergency.
PUBLISHED : 10 FEB 2022
WRITER: AFP
Protesters resist police before they moved in to evict mandate protesters in parliament grounds in Wellington on Thursday.
WELLINGTON: Police and anti-vaccine protesters clashed on the grounds of New Zealand's parliament Thursday, with more than 50 arrested after demonstrators who camped outside the legislature for three days were ordered to move on.
Activists chanted the Maori haka and yelled "hold the line" as they scuffled with a line of police moving to clear a makeshift settlement from the lawns of parliament.
Police moved in early Thursday after taking a hands-off approach to the first two days of days of protests, using loudhailers to warn a crowd of about 150 they faced arrest unless they left.
Officers were punched and kicked amid cries of "this is not democracy", "shame on you" and "drop the mandate".
The protest began Tuesday as a copycat of a "Freedom Convoy" action by Canadian truckers, with hundreds of semi-trailers and campervans jamming streets in central Wellington.
Many of the vehicles left after 24 hours but a hardcore of activists remained, vowing to stay "as long as it takes".
Wellington City Council, which also took a low-key approach in the protest's early stages, said its parking officers would begin issuing tickets to convoy vehicles blocking city streets.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said patience had worn thin among Wellington residents at the disruption caused by the protests and called for police to act.
"Roads are blocked in the city, businesses have had to shut, people felt threatened and intimidated by some of the protesters," he told Radio New Zealand prior to the police operation.
Wellington police commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell said more than 100 extra officers were brought in from outside the capital to clear the protest.
"It is disappointing that despite the grounds being officially closed to the public earlier today, a number of protesters are refusing repeated requests to leave the precinct," he said.
In a rare move, authorities closed the parliamentary precinct to the public to prevent reinforcements joining the protest.
The police initially edged forward across the parliament grounds but halted when it met resistance as officers arrested the most prominent protesters.
One woman, who refused to give her name, accused police of provoking the crowd.
"This has been a peaceful protest, what they've done is a disgrace," she said.
WELLINGTON: Police and anti-vaccine protesters clashed on the grounds of New Zealand's parliament Thursday, with more than 50 arrested after demonstrators who camped outside the legislature for three days were ordered to move on.
Activists chanted the Maori haka and yelled "hold the line" as they scuffled with a line of police moving to clear a makeshift settlement from the lawns of parliament.
Police moved in early Thursday after taking a hands-off approach to the first two days of days of protests, using loudhailers to warn a crowd of about 150 they faced arrest unless they left.
Officers were punched and kicked amid cries of "this is not democracy", "shame on you" and "drop the mandate".
The protest began Tuesday as a copycat of a "Freedom Convoy" action by Canadian truckers, with hundreds of semi-trailers and campervans jamming streets in central Wellington.
Many of the vehicles left after 24 hours but a hardcore of activists remained, vowing to stay "as long as it takes".
Wellington City Council, which also took a low-key approach in the protest's early stages, said its parking officers would begin issuing tickets to convoy vehicles blocking city streets.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said patience had worn thin among Wellington residents at the disruption caused by the protests and called for police to act.
"Roads are blocked in the city, businesses have had to shut, people felt threatened and intimidated by some of the protesters," he told Radio New Zealand prior to the police operation.
Wellington police commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell said more than 100 extra officers were brought in from outside the capital to clear the protest.
"It is disappointing that despite the grounds being officially closed to the public earlier today, a number of protesters are refusing repeated requests to leave the precinct," he said.
In a rare move, authorities closed the parliamentary precinct to the public to prevent reinforcements joining the protest.
The police initially edged forward across the parliament grounds but halted when it met resistance as officers arrested the most prominent protesters.
One woman, who refused to give her name, accused police of provoking the crowd.
"This has been a peaceful protest, what they've done is a disgrace," she said.
"I never thought I'd see this in New Zealand."
But locals in the capital have complained about being abused for wearing masks and several businesses near parliament have closed after staff were harassed for enforcing vaccine mandates.
Wellington City Council, which also took a low-key approach in the protest's early days, said its parking officers would begin issuing tickets to convoy vehicles blocking city streets.
New Zealand requires mandatory Covid vaccinations for people working in sectors such as health, law enforcement, education and defence, with those who refuse the jab facing the sack.
Proof of vaccination must also be shown to enter restaurants, sports events and religious services.
The "Freedom Convoy" of truckers in Canada has gridlocked the capital Ottawa since late last month, prompting city authorities to declare a state of emergency.
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