Another EU capital braces for convoy protest — Analysis
A ‘Freedom Convoy’ arrived in French border town Lille on Sunday ahead of a demonstration in Belgium
The Belgian capital Brussels braced for the so-called ‘Freedom Convoy’ on Monday. A day earlier, around 1,300 vehicles from France arrived at the border with Belgium to protest the anti-mandates and take them to the EU’s seat of power.
According to police, hundreds of campervans, trucks and cars that were part of a Canada-style anti vax mandate convoy arrived at Lille Sunday night.
Protesters shouted “We won’t give up!” and “Freedom! Freedom!”,Setting up camp in a nearby parking lot.
“We’ll go to Brussels to try to block it, to fight against this policy of permanent control,”Jean-Pierre Schmit, 58 years old, told AFP that he was unemployed.
According to the group’s social media channels, the Brussels protest is expected to gather near Parc du Cinquantenaire to the west of the city’s EU quarter.
Protests that are not in line with the law have been banned by authorities in Belgium’s capital. “motorized vehicles.”
These officers also recommended that no one travels to Brussels in a car. Local media reports that some vehicles were also banned from entering the city by law enforcement until Tuesday. “We’re doing everything we can to prevent Brussels from getting blocked,” said Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo advised demonstrators to abandon their protest. “I say to those who come from abroad: look at the rules in Belgium. We didn’t have too many rules and they don’t exist anymore. So, complain at home,”He said this on Friday.
The French ‘Freedom Convoy’ had gathered in Paris over the weekend with the aim of bringing the city to a standstill while protesting the vaccine pass and other anti-Covid restrictions.
Surprisingly, just 100 out of 3,000 cars made it to Champs Elysees Friday evening. The tear gas and pepper spray used by police quickly dispersed those that made it to the Champs-Elysees. Police issued hundreds upon thousands of fines during the protest that lasted over the weekend.
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