France’s ‘Freedom Caravan’ set off to protest against COVID-19 restrictions

Demonstrators set out from southern France on Wednesday in what they call a “freedom caravan” that will meet in Paris and Brussels to demand an end to COVID-19 restrictions, inspired by protesters who closed the Canadian border crossing.

About 200 protesters gathered in a car park in Nice, on France’s Mediterranean coast, many of them displaying Canadian flags in reference to truck drivers in Canada protesting their government’s restrictions over the coronavirus.

Demonstrators in Nice said they plan to head first to Paris, then to Brussels – the seat of the European Union – to demand, among other things, the repeal of rules preventing people from entering public places if they do not have a COVID-19 vaccine. .

“A lot of people don’t understand why a vaccine permit is valid in France,” said a man who was helping to coordinate the convoy from Nice, who gave his name as Denis.

“Our job is to inform Europe that issuing a health permit until 2023 is something that the majority of our citizens cannot understand,” Dennis said.

Not all the people who set off from Nice planned to travel all the way to Paris or Brussels. The convoy consisted of motorcycles and private cars, but no trucks.

In the city of Perpignan, near the French border with Spain, about 200 people gathered to set out for Paris as part of the “Caravan of Freedom” movement.

Their convoy consisted of cars, some camper vans, and a heavy goods vehicle.

Nicholas Porat, an independent truck driver said when he was about to hit the road.

(Reuters)