Blockades on Canada-US border continue, protests swell | AP News

In Ottawa, the ranks of protesters swelled to what police said was 4,000 demonstrators.

The protests at the bridge, in Ottawa and elsewhere have reverberated outside the country, with similarly inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and the U.S.

“But no one — not the city, the province or the federal government can seem to get their act together to end this illegal occupation.

But hundreds more arrived to bolster the crowd and settled into a faceoff with police about two blocks away, waving flags and yelling.

“It’s a win-win,” Koss said.

Glad to see the Windsor Police & its policing partners commenced enforcement at and near the Ambassador Bridge,” Federal Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne tweeted Saturday.

The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25% of all trade between the two countries, and auto plants on both sides have been forced to shut down or reduce production this week.

In Ottawa, 31-year-old Stephanie Ravensbergen said she turned out to support her aunt and uncle who have parked their semi in the streets since the beginning of the protest.

On the other side of the country, protesters disrupted operations at another border crossing between Surrey, British Columbia, and Blaine, Washington, but officials said it was not blocked.

At least 500 vehicles in several convoys attempted to enter Paris at key arteries but were intercepted by police.

In the Netherlands, meanwhile, dozens of trucks and other vehicles ranging from tractors to a car towing a camper arrived in The Hague, blocking an entrance to the historic parliamentary complex.

Thomas Adamson in Paris and Nick Perry in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this story.

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