At least 7,200 police officers will be deployed in Paris over the weekend to prevent demonstrators with vehicles in a so-called freedom convoy from disrupting traffic. In addition, strict sanctions have been announced, such as high fines, prison sentences and years of driving license revocation.
Since Wednesday, opponents of the corona measures have been driving in trucks and other vehicles in parades to the capital.
French media report that other grievances, such as the rise in energy prices and the rise in livelihoods in general, are also driving protesters to Paris. They often get a lot of acclaim along the routes. Authorities in Meaux, northeast of Paris, have banned a gathering of sympathizers in the city on Friday evening. Meaux is on the route of the freedom convoy from eastern Strasbourg.
The authorities in Paris are currently counting on 1700 vehicles, but according to reports from the departments, that is a low estimate. One convoy from the south would number nine hundred vehicles.
The convoys started as a trucker’s protest following the Canadian example, but passenger cars, campers and motorcycles are also driving along. It was reported at Lyon that farmers have also joined a corona parade. It is still unclear whether all participants will enter the Paris region on Saturday, where the convoys will then meet. On social media, the outer ring road is called A86. It is a motorway through the suburbs around Paris.