“Freedom convoys”: Paris still under high surveillance
On Saturday, the police had to intervene until late at night to disperse the last members of the "freedom convoys" still present in the Champs-Élysées district.
REUTERS - BENOIT TESSIER
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The police are ready until Sunday evening in case the self-proclaimed "freedom convoys" try again to demonstrate in the streets of the capital.
On Saturday, they failed to block Paris, but disrupted traffic on several occasions, including Place de l'Étoile.
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About 7,500 gendarmes and police were still deployed this Sunday, February 13 in the streets of Paris and around the capital.
On Saturday,
the police had to intervene until late at night
to disperse the last members of the "freedom convoys" still present in the Champs-Élysées district and in the Bois de Boulogne.
In total, on Saturday, more than 500 demonstrators were fined and around a hundred were arrested.
Early this morning, 81 people were still in custody.
A blurry program
Like Saturday, the program of "freedom convoys" for this Sunday is vague.
For lack of leaders, this heterogeneous gathering with multiple demands is struggling to organize itself.
Some would like to try new actions in Paris when others have already taken to the road, heading for Brussels, where other convoys from several European countries are also due to arrive.
A large rally is planned for Monday, February 14, in the Belgian capital.
But as in Paris, the authorities have forbidden access to the city.
Finally, a third group wonders if it would not be wiser to go to Strasbourg where the European Parliament will also meet from Monday.
►Also read: Faced with the "freedom convoy", the presidential candidates between support and wait-and-see
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