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COVID digest: Paris bans 'Freedom Convoy' protest

The Canadian-inspired rally of motorists will be banned in the French capital. Elsewhere, the Philippines has reopened its borders to foreign travelers. DW has the latest.

Police in Paris on Thursday announced a ban on a French version of the so-called "Freedom Convoy" of motorists protesting against the country’s coronavirus restrictions. Authorities will bar protesters from holding demonstrations in the French capital from February 11-14.

The convoy set out from southern France on Wednesday, aiming to converge on Paris and Brussels to demand an end to virus restrictions.

After officials in Paris announced the ban, the mayor of Brussels said the Belgian capital would also forbid the protest convoy. 

A total of six convoys have been organized so far. In addition to residents from Nice, people from Bayonne, Strasbourg and Cherbourg, among other cities, have taken part.

The French protests are the latest in a series of global demonstrations inspired by the Canadian truckers that have occupied the capital city of Ottawa.

A sizeable group of truck drivers has blocked a border crossing to protest a COVID-19 vaccine mandate imposed in January by Canada and the US.