Dozens of vehicles set off Wednesday in Bayonne and Nice from "Freedom convoys", inspired by a movement launched in Canada to protest against health restrictions, determined to reach Paris, AFP journalists noted. .

In the Basque port, to the sounds of horns, applause and a sound system, cars, vans and motorcycles, but no trucks, took to the road hoping to reach Paris on Friday.

Another convoy set off from Nice on Wednesday, with some 200 people in cars, vans or motorcycles, according to an AFP photographer.

In Bayonne, gathered in the parking lot of a supermarket, a hundred people waited for the departure given at 2 p.m., sharing coffee, tea and cakes, under a brilliant blue sky.

"I am here today to defend the freedom of the French people and democracy", explains Nathalie, 52 years old.

The vaccination pass, subject at the heart of the dispute, "is an aberration", declares Eyhande Abeberry, 52 years old from Bayonne, who was sorry not to be able to leave.

"But the heart is there !".

Elizabeth, from Anglet, did not leave either - "it requires some preparation" - but she "supports the cause".

"I just want to be free to do what I want, to move around and treat myself as I see fit," she said.

A nurse who had to stop working because he was not vaccinated, Steven, 39, expressed his disappointment: "When it was necessary to be responsible, I worked during the three confinements. I caught Covid-19 at work . Before, I was a hero of the Nation now, I'm not even a citizen anymore. I don't understand how we went from one to the other."

Before leaving Bayonne, a spokesperson dictated the instructions: "This movement must be peaceful. I'm counting on you!"

A little further north, in Castets (Landes), a few dozen people, including yellow vests, served as a welcoming committee for the Bayonne convoy, joined by vehicles from Pau.

About thirty vehicles, including two trucks without a trailer, then made their way to Bordeaux, escorted by the gendarmerie.

A support kitty travels with the convoy to help participants pay for their fuel to Brussels, the hoped-for meeting point for "freedom convoys" on a European scale.

With AFP

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