Austrian police on Thursday announced a ban on any “Freedom Convoy” action inspired by the movement launched in Canada against Covid restrictions.
As several hundred vehicles were set to converge Friday in central Vienna, as well as near a major public park in the Austrian capital, police said they feared the protesters intended to block the city’s main traffic arteries.
Police also said in a tweet that the protesters would cause an “unacceptable nuisance in terms of noise in a popular recreation area”, as well as pollution from fuel emissions.
Similar convoys have been banned in Paris and Brussels.
On Thursday, Canadian police threatened for the first time to crack down on the occupation of the streets of the capital Ottawa as it entered its third week.
Canada’s “Freedom Convoy” movement was launched in anger at requirements that truckers either be vaccinated, or test and isolate, when crossing the US-Canada border.
It has rapidly become a broader protest at Covid measures in general and against the Canadian government.
