As authorities unleashed heavy artillery in an attempt to drive protesters off the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor on Saturday, the party continued unabated under the impassive gaze of police on the streets of Ottawa paralyzed by heavy trucks .
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A winter carnival atmosphere reigned in the city center among the immobilized trucks, while thousands of people had come to join the movement to protest health measures which has been going on for 16 days now.
Well at ease, protesters from Quebec were even lounging in an inflatable spa with a breathtaking view of the Canadian parliament. The large crowd made it difficult to walk on Wellington Street.
Hundreds of protesters arrived from Montreal after gathering at Jarry Park. According to the police, the convoy was more than 20 km long on the roads of the federal capital.
And, like the previous weekends, the children were numerous alongside their parents.
Courtesy picture
In the evening, fireworks burst into the sky as music played loudly. Despite an injunction, the horns were heard loudly.
“Especially on weekends, the organizers try to project an image that they are not dangerous,” recalls Charles Bordeleau, former chief of the Ottawa Police Service.
This surreal atmosphere contrasted with that around the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, where truckers have been blocking traffic since Monday.
After an injunction granted the day before to evict the demonstrators, a large deployment of police began to push them back in the early morning.
“This is where we see that the economy is more important than the quality of life of citizens,” said an Ottawa resident who refused to name herself for fear of her safety.
Even in Paris, the “freedom convoys” were greeted with tear gas and armored vehicles.
Hundreds of Ottawans exasperated, even frightened by the presence of the convoy, organized a march on Saturday afternoon to express their frustration. They didn’t want to go near the city center for fear it would get out of hand.
“There are radical groups that control the organization. And they violate the laws without consequence, launches Natalia, who only wanted to give her first name. This is unacceptable. »
For her part, Ling no longer feels safe in her own neighborhood: “I run to get groceries. When I wear a mask, people yell at me: “Take that off!” she laments.