Paris today became the first city in the world to ban a “freedom convoy” threatening to bring road chaos as it protests against coronavirus restrictions.
Hundreds of motorists inspired by a similar demonstration in Canada are on their way to France’s capital from the southern city of Nice.
But on Thursday the Paris police prefecture issued a statement saying those involved in the “undeclared mobilisation” risk losing their liberty.
Anybody caught taking part in the freedom convoy risks two years in prison and fines equivalent to some £4,000, the statement says.
The convoy aims to “block the capital by hindering road traffic,” the statement adds.
“Due to the risk of public order disturbances that this gathering could cause, the Prefect of Police issues an order prohibiting such demonstrations, from Friday February 11, 2022 to Monday February 14, 2022 inclusive.”
The French convoy left the south of France on Wednesday and is picking up support on its journey to Brussels via Paris.
The statement reads: “The stated objective of these demonstrators would be to block the capital by obstructing road traffic in the streets of Paris to promote their demands, before continuing their journey towards Brussels on Monday February 14.”
Despite the ban, organisers of the convoy have indicated that they will continue their journey so as to force a confrontation with the authorities.
They are being supported by the Yellow Vest anti-government movement, which has brought chaos to cities including the French capital in recent years.
Many of the French vehicles are displaying Canadian flags in a tribute to truckers in Canada who are protesting against their own governments Covid-19 restrictions.
Protesters in Nice confirmed they planned to head first to Paris, then on to Brussels - headquarters of the European Union.
They are calling for the scrapping of rules barring people from public venues if they don’t have a Covid-19 vaccination, they said.
“Lots of people don’t understand why a vaccine pass is in force in France,”said a spokesman for the convoy organisers, and who gave his name as Denis.
“Our work is to communicate to Europe that putting in place a health pass until 2023 is something the majority of our fellow citizens cannot understand.”
In Ottawa, Canada, protesters continue to block two border crossings between the United States and Canada, including the key Ambassador Bridge.
The so-called Freedom Convoy began in January in western Canada, where it was launched in anger at requirements that truckers either be vaccinated or test and isolate when crossing the US-Canadian border.
But the movement has turned into a broader protest against Covid-related restrictions and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, and put a spotlight on pandemic curbs around the world.
In the US, it was reported on Thursday that a truckers’ protest could impact this weekend’s Super Bowl.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is said to have told law enforcement agencies that protests against mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations could “potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities”.
According to CNN, the protests could hit Sunday’s Super Bowl final in Los Angeles between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams.
