“Freedom Convoy” | The movement is going global

(Washington) Paris, Brussels, London, Washington, Canberra, Wellington: “freedom convoys” are taking shape around the world, financed in particular by far-right groups and inspired by the demonstrators who still monopolize Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Lila Dussault
The Press

A twist: the Canadian flag, generally discreet on the international scene, has become, for two weeks, the symbol of demonstrations around the world “for freedom”, or “against protective measures against COVID-19”, depending on the perspective you take.

Indeed, 12 days after their arrival in Ottawa, heavy trucks and thousands of demonstrators who oppose sanitary measures – even who demand the dismissal of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – are still blocking the downtown core of the Canadian capital. A model that is growing around the world, where other convoys are setting in motion.

United States

The date of 1^er march circulates on certain social networks such as Telegram – an encrypted messaging application – for the arrival of convoys of opponents of sanitary measures in Washington DC, capital of the United States. Already in New York on Monday, several hundred municipal employees demonstrated against the City’s decision to fire from Friday those who refuse vaccination against COVID-19. The day before, a hundred truck drivers demonstrated in Alaska.

Former US President Donald Trump is openly supportive of the protests in Ottawa, as are billionaire Elon Musk and several right-wing US TV stations like Fox News.

The mobilization has also received the support of American conservative officials, such as Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who describes the protesters as “heroes” and “patriots”. An ad that helped spread the movement, according to Ciaran O’Connor, an analyst for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a British organization aimed at countering polarization, extremism and misinformation. “When American right-wing media picks up something, it goes global,” he explains.

The GoFundMe platform had raised more than $ 10 million for the organizers of the Canadian convoy and has since Saturday decided to reimburse the donations. The crowdfunding campaign had been shared on several far-right groups and social networks, notably American, the magazine reported on Sunday. Politico.

The organizers have since turned to the Christian platform GiveSendGo, established in the United States. In a few days, they raised nearly 8 million CAN. “What is unique is the scale it takes [en termes de donateurs et de fonds reçus] “, is surprised Ciaran O’Connor.

GoFundMe’s decision has been decried by several elected Republicans in the United States, to the point of creating tension with Canada. “It is certainly not the concern of the Attorney General of Texas how we conduct our daily lives in Canada in accordance with the rule of law,” said Marco Mendicino, federal Minister of Public Safety, as reported by News. “We are Canadians, we have our own set of laws and we will follow them. »

France and England

In France, Paris could be stormed as early as Friday by thousands of vaccine passport opponents who plan to travel to the capital in a “freedom convoy”.

In the Facebook and Telegram groups “Convoy France officiel”, activists are trying to organize a large-scale national action, with several trips across the country. A specific location in the capital has yet to be determined. Truckers, however, are not tied to the movement.

In England, the UK Freedom Convoy rallied in Westminster on Monday in support of Canadian truckers, according to Britain’s News Channel.

Belgium

Convoys from more than twenty European countries are organizing to head for Brussels, capital of the European Union, from next week, according to information found on the Telegram group “Euro Convoy”. The date of February 14 has been brought forward, indicates the Belgian daily The Brussels Times. “Judging by online activity, there’s a lot of discussion,” confirms Ciaran O’Connor.

A “generalized fed up” partly explains this movement, notes David Morin, professor of political science at the University of Sherbrooke. “The symbolic character of the convoy in Ottawa – the truckers who defend freedom – has significant media significance,” he notes. For a lot of people who watch it from afar, it makes a big impression. »

Australia and New Zealand

Protesters who claim to be part of the “freedom convoy” have been massed in Canberra, capital of Australia, for eight days. They do not intend to move, which raises fears of an escalation of violence, reported Tuesday the washington post.

In New Zealand, a convoy of trucks and motor homes blocked the parliament district in the capital Wellington on Tuesday to protest against the sanitary measures in place, among the most draconian in the world. Several demonstrators carried Canadian flags.

These movements are often exploited by groups linked to the right of the right, recalls David Morin, also co-holder of the UNESCO Chair in the prevention of violent radicalization and extremism. “Here we have an extreme right which is skilled on social networks, well connected in the Western world and which has a transnational approach, he observes. We have to admit that, on the political level, they succeeded in destabilizing, even if temporarily, the political debate. »

With Agence France-Presse