The protest that began in Canada at the end of January by thousands of truckers who reject the vaccination pass extends to France and New Zealand, while more voices are added against health restrictions after two years of prohibitions. The activists call to replicate the demonstration in other cities in Europe and in the United States.
It calls itself the “Freedom Convoy” and after emerging recently in Canada, this protest movement is spreading to France and New Zealand. And he warns that he will soon arrive in Belgium.
Formed by thousands of drivers in trucks and other vehicles, the demonstration began in rejection of the requirement of the Government of Justin Trudeau that requires truckers to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to cross the land border with the United States.
Otherwise, these workers must submit a test for the virus and isolate themselves. Angered by the mandatory measure, since last January 28 thousands have blocked the streets of Ottawa, the capital, other Canadian cities and the roads that lead to the border area.
The chaos caused the mayor of Ottawa, Jim Watson, to declare a state of emergency on February 6 and the Police requested additional agents in the face of the situation that he described as “out of control”.
The blockades and the incessant sound of their horns disturbed the tranquility of the residents until on Monday, February 7, the judge of the Superior Court of Ontario, Hugh McLean, immediately ordered the horns to be silenced, noting that the thunderous noise could cause long-term irreparable hearing damage, but the manifestations continue.
“We are all fed up”
From the original opposition to the vaccination requirements, the truckers’ movement morphed into a broader protest against all restrictions related to Covid-19 and the liberal Trudeau government and highlighted the constraints of the pandemic around the world. .
“We are all fed up,” said the Premier of the Quebec province, Francois Legault, who announced that he would lift most restrictions related to the pandemic in mid-March and stressed that the number of hospitalizations for the virus is on the decline. .
About 80 per cent of Canadians aged five and older are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. However, recent surveys have shown that frustrations with health-related impediments are on the rise.
“I am against wearing a mask, against all distancing measures and the closure of restaurants (…) getting vaccinated should be a decision between a person and their doctor, not the government,” said protester John Hawley-Wight.
So far, 22 people have been arrested and the authorities have opened 79 criminal investigations, according to the Canadian Police on February 9.
After snowballing, the Canadian protest has found replicas of solidarity abroad where many, tired of two years of limitations, call for a return to normal freedoms.
“The convoy of freedom” gets under way in France
Inspired by protesters in Canada, dozens of people on motorcycles and in cars in Nice, France, waved Canadian and French flags Wednesday to demand an end to restrictions imposed by Covid-19.
The demonstrators indicated that they will come with the protest to Paris and then to Brussels, headquarters of the European Union, to demand, among other things, that the rules that prohibit people from entering public places if they do not have a vaccination pass be eliminated.
“A lot of people don’t understand why there is a vaccine pass in France,” said a man who was helping to coordinate the convoy from Nice and who identified himself as ‘Denis’ and declined to give his last name.
“Our job is to communicate to Europe that implementing a health pass until 2023 is something that most of our fellow citizens cannot understand,” he added.
Precisely, in the last few hours, the French government spokesman, Gabriel Attal, stated that the so-called health passport could be eliminated to access most public places at the end of March or beginning of April.
Attal said that it is expected that “the (health) situation has improved enough to be ready to lift the latest measures.”
Unlike Canada, for the moment in France the truck drivers have not joined the mobilization. The protesters, which include several of the so-called “yellow vests”, who since 2018 have been showing their discontent towards the policies of the Executive of Emmanuel Macron, have also begun to meet in cities such as Brest, Perpignan, Lille and Strasbourg, from where they depart heading to Paris.
New Zealand: Protesters Block Outside Parliament
Meanwhile, protesters from across New Zealand gathered outside the Parliament building in the capital, Wellington, just ahead of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s first speech of the year.
The convoy of trucks and motorhomes blocked the streets near the Legislative, from where they raised their voices against the Covid-19 measures.
New Zealand truck protest supporters on Tuesday refused to leave and camped overnight inside the national parliament’s grounds in Wellington – picketing the parliament again Wednesday. https://t.co/8TA5EhmYfJ
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 9, 2022
Ardern assured that these protests do not represent the opinion of the majority of citizens of his country. “I think it would be a mistake to somehow characterize what we have seen outside as a representation of the majority… The majority of New Zealanders have gone to great lengths to keep each other safe,” she said.
Activists hold banners calling for “freedom” and promise to camp outside Parliament until restrictions are lifted.
Discontent promises to spread further. Calls to organize similar protests in other cities in Europe and in the United States have multiplied on social networks.
With AFP and Reuters