Protests against Covid restrictions held in France and Netherlands: 'Freedom convoy'

​​Demonstrators against Covid-19 restrictions in France and the Netherlands staged protests on Saturday inspired by the “Freedom Convoy” demonstrations in Canada. In France police fired teargas at demonstrators on the Champs Élysées in Paris shortly after a convoy protesting against restrictions made it into the capital. Cars carrying protesters managed to get through police checkpoints in central Paris on Saturday to snarl traffic around the Arc de Triomphe. Inspired by horn-blaring demonstrations in Canada, the motorists waved French flags and honked in defiance of a police order not to enter the city. A convoy of vehicles from across the Netherlands also brought The Hague’s city centre to a standstill earlier in the day.