Paris has banned a protest convoy planned for Friday as car and lorry drivers head to the city.
People in Toulouse, France, gather to support the protest convoy driving to Paris, to copy the protests in Canada. Photo: AFP / Hans Lucas
Canadian truckers started the protests as a "Freedom Convoy" occupying the capital, Ottawa, and similar protests have erupted in Australia, France and Belgium.
Canada's capital city Ottawa has been paralysed for days by the truckers objecting to Covid-19 measures there.
Convoys from towns and cities around France have started making their way to Paris to copy that protest.
On Monday, some plan to join a major demonstration in Brussels - where the mayor has also banned the incoming protests for not having a permit.
Ottawa has been put into a state of emergency over its protests, which saw truckers blockade the streets to protest against rules requiring vaccination to cross the US-Canada border.
In France, protesters are opposed to the vaccination pass required to enter restaurants, bars and public spaces, rather than any border issues.
Convoys are organising online and appear to come from various political and ideological backgrounds, making it difficult to estimate how many vehicles might arrive in Paris on Friday.
After dozens of arrests at the Canadian demonstration, police in Paris are citing the risk of disturbances to public order as one reason for banning the protests.
Motorways leading into Paris will have extra police patrolling them. Drivers blocking the free flow of traffic could also have their driving licence suspended or penalty points added to their licence.
Officials say the Covid pass restrictions prompting the French protests could be removed in the next two months - before France's presidential election in April.
In Brussels, meanwhile, Mayor Philippe Close said that he and Belgian ministers had decided to ban the protest because no application for an event was lodged. He said resources were being deployed to prevent road blockages and police would divert any arriving convoys.
Supporters of the truckers convoy against Covid-19 vaccine mandates block traffic in the Canada bound lanes of the Ambassador Bridge border crossing, in Windsor, Ontario. 8 February 2022. Photo: AFP
Canada trucker protests force car plant shutdowns
Two of the world's biggest carmakers, Ford and Toyota, say production is being disrupted by trucker protests in Canada.
Truckers blocking the most important border crossing, the Ambassador Bridge, waved Canadian flags and banners denouncing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has refused to scrap a rule requiring truckers entering Canada to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus.
The demonstrators have also voiced opposition to Covid passports and the requirement to wear masks.
Toyota, the world's biggest car manufacturer, has halted production at three factories in Ontario, saying no more vehicles will be produced there this week.
Output has also been halted at a Ford engine factory, while Stellantis, which owns Chrysler, said parts shortages had affected shifts at its Ontario plant.
On the other side of the border, General Motors said it had been forced to cancel two production shifts at a plant in Michigan where it builds sport utility vehicles.
Canada's Transport Minister, Omar Alghabra, called it an illegal economic blockade against all Canadians. The trade disruption is estimated to be costing $300m a day.
The Ambassador Bridge is the largest international suspension bridge in the world and carries about a quarter of US-Canada trade.
It connects Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, in the US state of Michigan.
In Australia, thousands of demonstrators last week took to Canberra's streets and gathered in the parliamentary zone, protesting against vaccine mandates, the ABC reported.
The march ended a week of protests in which many demonstrators camped in the parliamentary area, before police carried out a large operation to remove camping equipment and illegally parked vehicles. Peaceful protests within the precinct are permitted, but camping and parking without a permit is not.
- BBC / ABC / Reuters
