The Canadian truckers' uprising spreads to Europe

09/02/2022 · Sylvie Huygen

At a time when the European Commission is proposing to extend the European Union's “EU Digital COVID Certificate” by a year, Canadians and Europeans are presenting a united front against mandatory vaccination, with their “freedom convoy” conducted in two stages, on either side of the Atlantic.

First there is this peaceful freedom convoy^[2], named Freedom Convoy 2022 and made up of some 35,000 Canadian truckers^[3] and many of their American counterparts. It set off around mid-January from Stanstead, before making its way to Ottawa on 29 January. The truckers will dismantle it when they obtain the lifting of the restrictions imposed on them at the borders between Canada and the United States. Not before, much to the dismay of the Canadian authorities. Since 15 January, every trucker travelling between these two countries has been required to provide proof of full “anti-covid” vaccination (or face a two-week quarantine) and to present a negative screening test.

Through a singular domino effect, this Canadian convoy very quickly inspired the Old Continent, with a first wave of protest in Friesland^[4] (Netherlands) on 30 January. Named the European Freedom Convoy, the European protest takes the form of a multitude of convoys, with convergence points in several European capitals (Helsinki, Bern, Berlin, Prague^[5], Madrid, Zagreb, Vienna, Paris, Brussels… and Oslo, on 19 February). The Swiss, Finnish^[6], German, Czech, Croatian, Austrian and Norwegian convoys are targeting mainly, or even exclusively, their country's capital. For the others (including the Dutch^[7] and Portuguese convoys), the idea is to converge on Brussels. The French have set themselves two convergence points: Paris, over the weekend of 12 and 13 February, then Brussels. The Belgian and European capital should therefore welcome, on 14 February, a procession of Belgians, French, Dutch, Luxembourgers, Germans from the border areas^[8], Spaniards, Portuguese and Swiss.

A call for participation has been launched on social networks to all road users (cars, motorbikes, camper vans, lorries and vans). Much information on the convoys' routes, supplies and accommodation is being exchanged mainly on Telegram and Facebook. Interactive maps, showing among other things the meeting points, are being made available to participants.

Beyond any political discourse, this peaceful action, which is not stricto sensu an “anti-vaccination” movement, aims to restore certain fundamental rights of the individual, such as the right to make free choices about one's health and to move freely from one country to another, without falling foul of restrictions or discrimination.

This large-scale demonstration enjoys the support of a range of associations, including Ensemble pour la Liberté. At the same time, in some countries it is running up against the firm opposition of politicians and authorities, who intend to prevent their capital from being blocked. It is therefore reportedly banned in Paris and Brussels^[9].

By Sylvie Huygen, citizen journalist at BAM!

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/fr/ip_22_744
https://www.latribune.ca/2022/01/26/des-camions...
https://bam.news/articles/convoi-de-la-liberte/
https//www.omropfryslan.nl/nijs/1127114-coronaprotest...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/222474590004799
https://yournews.com/2022/02/05/2294649/worldwide-movement...
https://t.me/+QCQc_klOceg50GJk
https://t.me/Convoy_Deutschland
https://www.dhnet.be/regions/bruxelles/le-convoi-de-la-liberte-interdit...