France, New Zealand, Belgium … the movement spreads in many countries

The movement started by Canadian truck drivers is gaining momentum. While a large-scale lockdown is planned in Paris this weekend, other countries have not been left out. Similar movements to protest, among other things against health measures, are being organized in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

Canada

It all started with a protest movement by Canadian truck drivers, who were asked to get vaccines to cross the Canada-US border. The movement has since expanded to include broader demands, particularly against all health restriction measures in place.

Thousands of people closed the streets of the capital, Ottawa, for nearly two weeks, but also in other large cities, such as Quebec or Toronto. A situation that prompted the mayor of Ottawa to declare a state of emergency in the city. The latter is asking for help from the federal government to put an end to this movement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called these obstacles “unacceptable” and emphasized that they “would have a negative impact on the Canadian economy.”

France

Opponents of health restrictions were inspired by the Canadian movement. A call was launched on a Facebook page called “Freedom Caravan” to organize a major obstruction operation in Paris starting Friday. This call does not come from truck drivers, unlike Canada, but the French mobilization wants it to be a movement listed “in the row of yellow vests”.

If, at first, participants wish to abandon health restriction measures, such as the vaccination card, they also demonstrate against higher energy prices, lower fuel taxes, salary increases, or even in general, against the government of Emmanuel Macron. But the Paris police headquarters prevented the demonstration.

Belgium

After “Rolling Paris”, as the participants in the Caravan of Freedom planned, the demonstrators should head to Brussels, the capital of the European Union, Monday 14 February, for a “European rapprochement”. But the mayor of the Belgian capital announced on Thursday a ban on the entry of the Freedom Caravan into a city and hopes to prevent obstruction.

Belgian media has already spotted a Facebook page called the “European Freedom Caravan”, calling for an “end to authoritarian rules”. Therefore, protesters from several European countries must meet in Brussels on Monday, and stand up to the system established by the authorities. Violent protests against extremist membership have also rocked the capital in recent weeks.

New Zealand

The Freedom Caravan was even exported as far as the Pacific. This week, anti-vaccine protesters gathered in Wellington, near New Zealand’s parliament, to demand an end to health restrictions. Hundreds of homes and trucks closed the Parliament District on Tuesday. Most left after 24 hours but a solid core remained determined to stay there “as long as necessary”.

Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said before the police move, reinforcements from one hundred dispatchers were closed. On Thursday, clashes broke out with the police as they tried to disperse the demonstrators, and 120 people were arrested.

Australia

Many opponents of compulsory vaccination are also gathering in Canberra, the capital of Australia, for several days of mobilization, it has been confirmed. franceinfo. The movement’s organizers called for five million Australians to gather in the capital to demand the government’s resignation.

According to the Canberra Times, the movement is much more than an anti-corruption demonstration, with Indigenous rights activists and evangelical Christians taking to the streets to defend their freedoms.