“QR Code, Never Again!” – Police Fire Teargas At Demonstrators As Freedom Convoy Enters Paris

Update (1135ET): Chaos ensues in Paris Saturday as hundreds, if not thousands of demonstrators blocked streets in the capital city. 

NYTimes said, “thousands of cars, camper vans and trucks” have entered the metro area, which was part of a convoy to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s medical tyranny of lockdowns and forced vaccines mandates. 

This weekend, protests are banned in the city as more than 7,000 police officers were deployed to counter the “Freedom Convoy.” 

Officers had set up checkpoints at several of the main entrances to Paris on the road that surrounds the city, known as the Boulevard Périphérique. That prevented many demonstrators from entering.

But small clusters of protesters who managed to get past the checkpoints gathered at several places in the city, honking their cars and waving French flags. Some joined up with the anti-vaccine-pass marches that had been held on most weekends in Paris but had waned in recent months.

The different convoys, which had started out in cities like Nice, Brest, Lille and elsewhere, appear to be only loosely coordinated on social media and on instant messaging platforms. -NYTimes

Demonstrators in central Paris have so far been peaceful. People waved French and Canadian flags and chanted: “QR code, never again!” “Freedom!” “No to the vaccine pass!”

Scenes on the ground show one convoy stopped before the Arc de Triomphe as freedom-loving folks waved French flags. 

🔴 A group of the convoy for freedom has made it through and is blocking the Champs-Élysées in Paris 🔥#TruckersConvoy2022 #TruckersConvoy2022 pic.twitter.com/DKhhGr2hrO

— @PalasAtenea(2)🍊 (@AthenaMia2nd) February 12, 2022

Police began tear-gassing demonstrators.  

Gases lacrimógenos, detenciones e inmovilizaciones de vehículos rodeados de una amplia presencia policial en los Campos Elíseos de París para impedir que el Convoy por la Libertad bloquee la ciudad.

Ven peligro, eso es buena señal. pic.twitter.com/CYaloV9m1m

— Pablo Lucini (@PabloLucini3) February 12, 2022

⚡️🇫🇷 Police are out in full force trying to stop the freedom convoy in Paris and they started using tear gas. pic.twitter.com/EHdmPsGrWF

— CanadianCryptonaire – Same as Getter (@CCryptonaire) February 12, 2022

PARIS: Police deploy tear gas against freedom convoy on the
Champs-Élysée. Some gas lands on a cafe terrace where families are gathered.

pic.twitter.com/12ZQp0DPSq

— Election Wizard 🚛 (@ElectionWiz) February 12, 2022

Police in Paris drown the streets with teargas at the Freedom Convoy protest in Paris, France. pic.twitter.com/oKhoiKv2Vw

— Marie Oakes (@TheMarieOakes) February 12, 2022

More scenes from the Arc de Triomphe.

Police used cranes to remove vehicles blocking streets. 

Authorities were very well prepared to handle demonstrators. 

Police used armored vehicle carriers to prevent some convoys from entering downtown. 

Police intercept ‘Freedom Convoy’ headed for Paris

Details: https://t.co/XqI3AJVzZ5 pic.twitter.com/pyjlrVZ47b

— RT (@RT_com) February 12, 2022

France, gendarmerie armored vehicles arrived in Paris a few hours before the arrival of the Freedom Convoy. pic.twitter.com/WVZBDbuiUU

— RadioGenova (@RadioGenova) February 11, 2022

Thousands of demonstrators were seen on the streets of central Paris protesting against medical tyranny by the government.  

Roads are being blocked in Paris. 

For the second consecutive day, French police are blocking Paris roads in an effort to stop the convoy for freedom blocking Paris roads pic.twitter.com/qhyin3mMbm

— Zeno Calhoun (@zenoc_oshits) February 12, 2022

A lot of other demonstrators walked the streets. 

Départ de la manifestation Place d’Italie en direction de la Place de la Nation à Paris. #ConvoiFrance2022 #ConvoidelaLiberte #Paris #convoisdelaliberte pic.twitter.com/jWE7bqbyFr

— Anonyme Citoyen (@AnonymeCitoyen) February 12, 2022

According to TomTom traffic data, major delays are seen in and around Paris. 

The success of Canada’s Freedom Convoy in recent weeks has spread like wildfire worldwide as people band together and use their vehicles to block highways, city streets, and border-crossings, as they create leverage against overreaching governments who may have to appease the people and be forced to drop vaccine mandates. 

Watch Live: Convoys Worldwide

* * *

French protesters are expected to descend on Paris in a Canada-inspired “Freedom Convoy” sometime on Friday as they voice strong opposition to President Emmanuel Macron’s medical tyranny of lockdowns and forced vaccines mandates.

According to the Guardian, authorities in and around France’s capital have placed more than 7,000 officers on alert and at critical points of the city to deter convoys of trucks, cars, and vans. 

“The stated objective of these demonstrations is to ‘block the capital’ by preventing road traffic from circulating in order to further their demands … from Friday, before moving on to Brussels on Monday,” Paris’ police authority said.

“Because of the risk to public order, these protests will be banned from 11 to 14 February,” police said, adding that anyone blocking public roads will face severe fines and jail time. 

The Guardian reports convoys of trucks, vans, cars, and even motorcycles left Nice in the south-east, Bayonne in the south-west, Strasbourg in the north-east, and Cherbourg in the north-west, among other cities as they all head to Paris. 

Video published on Twitter shows police in the French capital preparing for convoy by ensuring protesters didn’t paralyze the metro area.

France, gendarmerie armored vehicles arrived in Paris a few hours before the arrival of the Freedom Convoy. pic.twitter.com/WVZBDbuiUU

— RadioGenova (@RadioGenova) February 11, 2022

PARIS – Des blindés de la gendarmerie sont positionnés dans la capitale. Ils pourront être utilisé pour pousser des voitures à l’arrêt. #convoisdelaliberte @CLPRESSFR pic.twitter.com/TNKByuBDOX

— Clément Lanot (@ClementLanot) February 11, 2022

More footage shows police erecting metal barriers around the metro area. 

Installation de barricades anti émeute sur les Champs Elysées en prévision de la venue du “#convoipourlaliberte ” à #Paris. #ConvoiFrance2022 pic.twitter.com/qcwPIltmjT

— Amar Taoualit (@TaoualitAmar) February 11, 2022

“We’ve been going around in circles for three years,” demonstrator Jean-Marie Azais, who was heading to Paris. “We saw the Canadians and said to ourselves, ‘It’s awesome what they’re doing.’ In eight days, boom, something was sparked.”