Paris police said they arrested 97 people who defied a ban on a Canada-style protest convoy over coronavirus regulations to try block traffic in the capital, with 81 still in custody Sunday, IgbereTV reports
Thousands of demonstrators from across France attempted to block traffic in the capital Saturday in a self-proclaimed “freedom convoy” of cars, trucks and campervans. Hundreds of them continued on to Brussels on Sunday.
In Paris, more than 100 vehicles managed to converge on the Champs-Elysees avenue, where police used teargas to disperse protesters in scenes reminiscent of the “yellow vest” riots of 2018-2019.
Dozens of people remained on the famous avenue and in the nearby Bois de Boulogne forest park until early Sunday.
Prosecutors said one of those being held was Jerome Rodrigues, a leader of the “yellow vest” protest movement, which engaged in running battles with the police every weekend for several months in late 2018 and early 2019.
The Paris police department also said an internal inquiry has been opened after a video emerged on social media showing an officer pointing his gun at a driver near the Arc de Triomphe monument at the top of the Champs-Elysees.
The protest is one of several worldwide inspired by the truckers’ standoff with authorities in Canada
