It is a journey that is already counted, globally, in hundreds of kilometres. The French “freedom convoy”, inspired by a Canadian initiative and declined in various regional processions, rallied Paris, Saturday February 12, from several large cities throughout the country. In total, the police carried out 97 arrests and 513 verbalizations of opponents of health measures participating in this previously prohibited operation, according to a report communicated on Sunday by the Paris police headquarters.
After a night in the Paris region, supporters of the end of the vaccination obligation and the repeal of the “global security” law, among other demands, take the direction of northern France and Belgium on Sunday. The European versions of the “freedom convoy” are to meet on Monday in Brussels, whose institutions are concentrating anger. A rally is scheduled for Monday in the Belgian capital.
But before that, it is in Lille (Nord) that the next stage of the procession is planned. Motorists would arrive Sunday in the middle of the afternoon near Lesquin, south of the metropolis, for a supply. A rallying point has been set near a supermarket in the town of Fâches-Thumesnil (Nord).
Leaving Villepinte (Seine-Saint-Denis), how many will be there to meet on Sunday evening in the capital of Flanders? According to a police source at France Télévisions, a large majority of the demonstrators decided to return home after Saturday’s mobilization in the Paris region. There would thus be only 10% of the demonstrators who would take the direction of Brussels on Sunday.
In the various Facebook groups of this social movement which advocates horizontality, the Belgian capital is seen as a target of opponents. After having challenged the national power, the demonstrators are now attacking the European institutions established there, such as the European Commission or the Council of the European Union, chaired for six months by Emmanuel Macron. A question remains: beyond the few hundred vehicles of the French “freedom convoy”, the number of foreign demonstrators who are indeed heading for Brussels remains very vague.
In anticipation of these gatherings, the Brussels capital has banned this mobilization, “which has not been the subject of an authorization to demonstrate because no request has been sent”according to the burgomaster (mayor) of Brussels, Philippe Close. “Means are put in place to prevent the blocking of the Brussels-Capital Region”he explained on Twitter, as of Thursday.
The police zones, with the help of the federal police, will divert motorized vehicles coming towards the capital despite the ban.
This collaboration between the 3 levels of power aims to impact public order in the capital as little as possible.— Philippe Close (@PhilippeClose) February 10, 2022
The police advise motorists not to go to the Belgian capital and its ring road on Monday.