Symbols of the working class and tools of occupation, heavy trucks became the emblem of the “freedom convoy” last year. A model that has made children elsewhere in the world.
The image is striking: hundreds – if not thousands – of heavy trucks, honking their horns day and night, blockading Canada’s main seat of power for weeks.
“There is an immediate visibility associated with the use of the truck, launches Pascale Dufour, specialist in social movements at the University of Montreal. The images are very strong. The occupation takes on a completely different meaning from the moment it is done through this machine. »
The vision is such that, in fact, it quickly goes beyond the borders of the country. “When you look, it’s only a few thousand people who have mobilized [à Ottawa]so there was a considerable echo compared to the real mobilization”, also observes David Morin, co-holder of the UNESCO Chair in the prevention of radicalization and violent extremism.
This is because semi-trailers have a whole symbolic significance.
The truck has become a symbol of the working class revolting against the financial elite, which has the ear of the government.
Michel Juneau-Katsuya, National Security Specialist
“The truck is also associated with virility, with a whole male imagination, adds Mme From the oven. This is clearly something that was staged with the protest. It’s not necessarily linked to an objective reality, but rather to what a truck driver represents in the collective imagination. »
By way of comparison, a mobilization of bicycles would probably not have had the same impact, illustrates Mme From the oven.
Trucks as tools
Beyond the symbol, the trucks also provided means for the mobilization, underline the specialists.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, PRESS ARCHIVES
David Morin, co-holder of the UNESCO Chair in the Prevention of Radicalization and Violent Extremism
The authorities have learned, over time, to manage the human masses, but managing the iron masses is another story.
David Morin, co-holder of the UNESCO Chair in the Prevention of Radicalization and Violent Extremism
Trucks have therefore become tools of occupation. “It was the improvised barricade, analyzes Mr. Juneau-Katsuya. ‘Cause you’re not gonna get this out fast, a truck. There was a big strategic mistake to let them into downtown Ottawa. »
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Due to their stature, the trucks that paralyzed downtown Ottawa last year looked intimidating.
At the same time, the vehicles were also used to exert intimidation, estimates Mme From the oven. “Pitching tents in downtown Montreal for three weeks is not the same as having trucks with generators, horns and running engines,” she compares. We are very small next to a truck. It is imposing. »
An exportable model
The use of the heavy truck as a political tool quickly gained ground internationally.
“It was ingenious to use the trucks, and, unfortunately, it’s a phenomenon that we exported,” notes Mr. Juneau-Katsuya. Immediately, in France, Belgium and New Zealand, people did as in Canada. »
And the influence of the convoy does not stop there. After Brazil’s presidential election last October, supporters of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro used heavy trucks to block roads in 22 of the country’s 27 states, according to Agence France-Presse.
For Joao Velloso, a law professor at the University of Ottawa of Brazilian origin, the link between the two movements is obvious.
We started to see the same phenomenon where we said to ourselves: “Ah, we should use trucks to block roads, camp in capitals, near sites of power.” It’s still interesting to see how the “freedom convoy”, for better or for worse, has become an emblem for other similar movements elsewhere.
Joao Velloso, law professor at the University of Ottawa
A mimicry that David Morin also recognizes. “The protest movements learn quite quickly from each other, they are very observant of what works or not, he explains. In Brazil, there have been two major tools: trucks and social networks. »
For Mr. Juneau-Katsuya, heavy trucks can now be considered part of the arsenal of extremist groups.
“The use of the ram car [comme outil pour des attentats] was established by the Islamic State, but was later taken over by the far right, he cites as an example. The truck is an evolution. He entered into this movement. »
Other trucker protests
The “freedom convoy” was far from the first demonstration by truckers in the world. The Canadian Trucking Alliance and the Quebec Trucking Association have, in turn, dissociated themselves from the movement. Here are some examples.
Chile
PHOTO ARCHIVE AHE
General Augusto Pinochet in Santiago on September 11, 1973, just after the coup that installed him in power
In 1972, a large demonstration of truckers in Chile opposed the project to create a state road transport company. The movement participated in the destabilization of the Chilean state and the coming to power of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
Brazil
PHOTO ANDERSON COELHO, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Truckers supporting former President Jair Bolsonaro blocked many roads across the country, including the BR-101 highway, at the end of last October.
A major demonstration by truckers protesting against the price of gasoline paralyzes Brazil for 10 days in 2018. Then, in October 2022, following the defeat of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro in the presidential election, truckers block roads in almost every state in the country, exposing a fraudulent election. The president of the Association of truck drivers ABRAVA disassociates himself from the movement.
Belgium and France
PHOTO KENZO TRIBOUILLARD, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
A participant in the European convoy greets a coach in a parking lot in the suburbs of Brussels on February 14.
In June 2015, around 200 semi-trailers gathered in the city center of Brussels, capital of Belgium, to demonstrate against the kilometer tax. Truckers are supported by the Professional Transport and Logistics Union.
It was also in Brussels that the European convoy inspired by that of Ottawa in 2022 culminated. However, the police did not let the vehicles enter the capital.
A few days earlier, convoys had mobilized some 32,100 demonstrators in France, according to Agence France-Presse. They consisted mainly of cars, vans and motor homes.
United States
PHOTO SAUL LOEB, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
A trucker demonstrates in Washington, May 7, 2020.
In May 2020, nearly 150 truckers gathered for three weeks in Washington to denounce their working conditions in the midst of a pandemic to the administration of Donald Trump. However, they do not block roads.
It is also in the American capital that the vehicles of the American “People’s Convoy” converged in March 2022, a mobilization that has never had the magnitude of that of the “freedom convoy” in Canada.