French police fired tear gas on the Canadian-inspired “Freedom Convoy” demonstrators protesting on Feb. 12 at the Champs Elysees Avenue in Paris against COVID-19 restrictions imposed on the capital city. Police had already stopped 500 vehicles at three checkpoints in Paris early on Feb. 12. By mid-morning, almost 300 tickets were handed out. The situation turned tense, with “scuffles” breaking out around lunchtime, according to local media outlets. The Freedom Convoy vehicles had blocked the Place de l’Étoile around the Arc de Triomphe by 4 p.m., with large crowds gathered on the streets. Riot police were attempting to disperse the people with the “repeated firing of tear gas,” journalist Catherine Trent wrote in a Feb. 12 Twitter post. Canada’s anti-mandate Freedom Convoy protests have paralyzed certain regions of Ottawa since late January, and they’ve also blocked crucial crossing points on the U.S.–Canada border. The protests currently happening in France are against …
RSS Feed | The Epoch Times