Benjamin Peter (on site), edited by Gauthier Delomez 2:06 p.m., February 10, 2022

Despite the ban from the Paris police headquarters, the participants in the "freedom convoy" remain mobilized to try to reach the capital, before driving to Brussels in Belgium.

Europe 1 went north of Toulouse, where the demonstrators still keep their motivation.

REPORTING

Honking, applause, shouting: while the Paris police headquarters has banned "freedom convoys", the demonstrators are not demobilizing.

North of Toulouse, none of the participants in this convoy is really surprised by this decision.

“Once again, we are flouting our Constitution”, breathes Christian, one of them, still as determined.

"There is no reason for me to be prevented from circulating. Normally, we have to go through Paris (to reach Brussels, editor's note), why would we be banned from doing so?", castigates the conveyor at the microphone of Europe 1 .

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The crossing of Paris, a secondary objective

"We are determined, because over there (in Paris), there is Manu who is waiting for me", continues Aimée, another participant, who refers to the sentence "that they come to get me" pronounced by the president Emmanuel Macron in July 2018 during the Benalla affair.

The organizers of this convoy, however, confide to Europe 1 that crossing the capital is not necessarily an objective.

If some wish, most would prefer to get as close as possible to Paris and stop off on the outskirts.

For Jean, this ban reveals that the state is afraid.

"Up there, they mark out," he says.

"They tell themselves that they don't know how much we're getting," continues the conveyor, "you have to keep the suspense and I want to be there to experience it."

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At least a hundred vehicles mobilized in Toulouse

Nevertheless, Jean does not want at all costs to go through the capital.

"What do I want to do to myself in Paris?", He assures the microphone of Europe 1, before specifying his intentions: "We are going to bypass Paris. I go to Brussels, I'll come down from up there when something moves."

The Belgian authorities also announced at noon that they would also prohibit the arrival of the convoy in Brussels.

Some conveyors have already left, but it is very difficult to assess precisely how many.

A good hundred vehicles are at least mobilized.

Other participants are still on site, including a bus specially chartered for the occasion.

All this somewhat lacks coordination, but the conveyors have made an appointment in Montauban, in the Tarn-et-Garonne, then Cahors in the Lot, and they will spend the night in Limoges, in Haute-Vienne.

North of Toulouse, there are still about 200 people who support the convoy but who will not start.