Here’s what’s happening with the trucker-led protests in Canada and a copycat protest in Paris.
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Version 0 of 1. Canadian police moved in on Saturday to clear protesters at a vital bridge in Windsor, Ontario, that connects to the United States, and the police in Paris fired tear gas at copycat demonstrators blocking traffic on the Champs-Élysées. The Canadian demonstrations began as a protest against the mandatory vaccination of truck drivers crossing the U.S. border, but they have morphed into a battle cry against pandemic restrictions as a whole, and the leadership of Mr. Trudeau. Blockades in some places, like the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor — a vital link for the automobile industry in Detroit and beyond — have disrupted the flow of goods between the United States and Canada. An Ontario court ruled late Friday that protesters must clear the bridge, and by midday, the police were facing only about a dozen remaining pickup trucks there. The Canadian protest has inspired similar protests in New Zealand, Australia and now France. Thousands of cars, camper vans and trucks made their way to Paris from around the country over the past few days, to protest not only the government’s vaccine pass but also other sources of anger, like rising gas or energy prices. The French government is watching the convoy protests closely. President Emmanuel Macron is keen to avoid a repeat of the Yellow Vest protests that roiled France in 2018 and 2019, sometimes violently. |