French opponents of health measures are trying to import the movement from Canada, where truck drivers are demonstrating against compulsory vaccination to cross the American border. But the starting point of the French “freedom convoy” is somewhat different from its Canadian counterpart because the truckers in France should mobilize much less.
First, because unlike Canada, they rarely own their truck, but also because they are also less affected by health measures than those on the other side of the Atlantic. For example, French truckers can eat in relays without presenting their vaccination pass.
>> At the heart of a French “freedom convoy”: “We will not block anything or anyone”, assures a coordinator in Nice
The demands of the French movement partly concern the health dimension. The protesters want “recover their freedom”and call on their leaflets to “stop child sacrifice” referring to vaccination. However, as in Canada, they are not limited to the Covid and brew broader themes. They demand pell-mell access to care, education, culture, and also demand more referendums. Some slogans also refer to the price of gasoline and energy.
Just like the “yellow vests”, the movement finds an important echo on social networks. One of the Facebook groups of the freedom convoy has nearly 300,000 subscribers, thousands of messages are also exchanged via messengers like Telegram. Several routes to join the convoy on the road through France are shared. However, a strong digital mobilization does not necessarily mean that there will be strong mobilization in the streets and on the roads.
In one of his latest videos, Rémi Monde, one of the figures of the “freedom convoy” calls “all the yellow vests of France” to join the ranks of this movement.
“We are going to demonstrate against the pass, against energy taxes. We’re fed up, we’re all literally dying. So we have to give ourselves a chance and we really have to flood the networks. flood them! Share #LeConvoiFrançais everywhere!”
Rémi Monde, figure of the movementin a video on social networks
Several figures stand out from the “freedom convoy”. Among them, Rémi Monde who has been very active for several months on social networks to protest against the health pass, he has also published a lot of videos on this subject. In the past, Rémi Monde had already invested with “Nuit Debout” in 2016, but also with the “yellow vests”.
Two other personalities also emerged, two women: Maria, a nurse, and Marisa. They both claim to be spokespersons for “Convoy France”. They also share a lot of misinformation about health measures and are regularly relayed by groups close to the “yellow vests”.