An armored personnel carrier parked at the Arc de Triomphe during preparations for the Liberty Convoy action in ParisPARIS, Feb 12 , Lyudmila Orishchenko.The police cleared most of the Champs-Elysées in Paris, where motorists held protests against coronavirus restrictions, called the «Freedom Convoy», RIA Novosti correspondent reports. Traffic is being restored. Shops on the Champs-Elysées, which were closed for the duration of the action, have reopened. At the same time, a large number of police squads remain on the main avenue of the French capital, moving down the Champs Elysees — towards the Place de la Concorde. Around 13.30-14.00 Paris time (16.00 Moscow time) at least a few dozen cars entered the Champs Elysees. Drivers honked and waved flags. After a short time, law enforcement agencies began to use tear gas at the demonstration, which was banned by the authorities of the French capital. This went on for several hours. A few attempts to install barriers were immediately suppressed by law enforcement agencies. At the same time, the protesters did not put up much resistance.The Secretary of State at the French Foreign Ministry called the «Freedom Convoy» a convoy of selfishness. As one of the participants in the action, who arrived in Paris from Biarritz, told RIA Novosti earlier, the main goal of the demonstration is to express a peaceful protest against the vaccine passes in force in France. French motorists, inspired by the protests in Canada, left on Wednesday from the south of France, on Thursday and Friday — from other regions of the country — to Paris to hold an action against the restrictions imposed against the backdrop of the coronavirus epidemic. The police of the French capital banned the demonstration, called the «Freedom Escort». More than 7,000 policemen and gendarmes have been mobilized in Paris to prevent the «Freedom Escort» from blocking the roads of the city. Earlier on Saturday, the prefecture of police reported the arrest of 500 vehicles at various points on the entrance to Paris, and then another 300 vehicles. According to the latest data, 44 people have been detained.
