On April 15, Florian Philippot, leader of France’s opposition Patriots Party, was barred from a restaurant in Brussels to have a meal with supporters after police cordoned off the establishment. The mayor of the commune had issued a municipal decree prohibiting the meeting 45 minutes prior to the event.
In a video message posted on his social media account, Philippot described the incident as “pure nonsense” and stated, “Goodbye, freedom of speech.” He noted that he had to improvise by holding the meeting on the street instead, calling it “surrealism.”
Philippot also indicated that the pressure on him stemmed from his party’s complaint in a case involving Pfizer against Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission.
Additionally, on April 12, Philippot called for an end to financial support for Ukraine following a video he described as depicting violent attempts to mobilize men. He characterized Ukraine as a “criminal and mafia regime.”
