PARIS (AP) — Paris police fired tear gas Saturday against a handful of demonstrators on the Champs-Elysees Avenue who defied a police order by taking part in a vehicle protest against virus restrictions inspired by Canada’s horn-honking truckers.

In the Netherlands, dozens of trucks and other vehicles — ranging from tractors to a car towing a camping van — arrived in The Hague for a similar virus-related protest Saturday, blocking an entrance to the historic Dutch parliamentary complex.

But a threatened blockade of Paris failed to materialize Saturday, despite days of online organizing efforts.

Police set up checkpoints into the French capital on key roads and said they successfully stopped at least 500 vehicles from heading to the banned protest, but a few dozen vehicles were able to slip in and disrupt traffic on the boutique-lined Champs-Elysees. Authorities fired tear gas as they demanded that the demonstrators disperse, some of whom climbed onto their vehicles in the middle of the road to create chaos.

An Associated Press photographer was hit in the head with a tear gas canister as police struggled to control the crowd. Police at the scene were growing increasingly tense, and fired the tear gas after several photographers took photos of officers kicking and subduing a protester.

Police detained 54 people and handed out 300 tickets to motorists involved in the protest. Police also seized knives, hammers and other objects in a central Parisian square.

Protesters railing against the vaccination pass that France requires to enter restaurants and many other venues have converged in recent days toward Paris from the north, south, east and west, waving and honking at onlookers as they drove by. Some convoys sought to avoid police detection by traveling on local roads instead of the major highways leading into the capital.

Waving French flags and shouting “Freedom!,” the protesters were galvanized in part by truckers who have blockaded the center of Ottawa, Canada’s capital, and blocked border crossings to the U.S.

Most of the French convoys appeared small, and it is unclear how many people participated. The protest came as months of demonstrations against French government vaccination rules have been waning and as the government is relaxing virus restrictions. Nearly all French adults are vaccinated against COVID-19 and the protests have represented a small minority.

In the Dutch protest, protesters on foot joined the truckers, carrying a banner emblazoned with the Dutch words “Love & freedom, no dictatorship.” Police urged the protesters to move to a nearby park and warned the public about traffic problems.

Online chat groups, meanwhile, are encouraging French and Dutch protesters to join an attempted blockade convoy on Monday in Brussels, capital of Belgium and the 27-nation European Union.

Belgian federal police were urging people to avoid Brussels on Monday, including commuters, and said all vehicles coming to demonstrate will be escorted to a giant parking lot north of town where a protest will be authorized.

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OSLO (AP) — Norway says it is lifting almost all remaining COVID restrictions as it doesn’t see a major health threat to citizens any more, even though the omicron variant is still spreading in the Nordic nation.

“This is the day we have been waiting for,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere during a news conference in Oslo on Saturday. “We are removing almost all coronavirus measures.”

He justified the move by saying that Norwegians are well protected by vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic and the proportion of citizens who end in up in hospital has remained low despite the spread of the omicron variant.

As of Saturday, Norwegians are no longer required to wear masks in crowded places and the one-meter (3-foot) distancing rule is abolished. In addition, self-isolation requirements are lifted and replaced with a recommendation that infected adults stay at home for four days.

In December, Norway went into partial lockdown to limit the spread of the omicron variant.

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HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong on Saturday reported its daily record of confirmed COVID-19 cases, at 1,514.

The city is struggling with the worst outbreak of the pandemic as it tries to implement China's zero-tolerance strategy using a mandatory quarantine for all travelers and mass testing.

Hong Kong imposed new restriction this week, limiting in-person gatherings to no more than two households. It plans to allow only vaccinated people in shopping malls and supermarkets. Places of worship, hair salons and other businesses were ordered to close.

Beijing officials and Chinese state media warned Hong Kong against loosening any of the measures, saying that adopting a “living with the virus” policy would overwhelm its medical systems.

Hong Kong residents have been rushing to grocery stories to stock up on vegetables and get haircuts. Authorities have imposed lockdowns on residential buildings wherever clusters of infections are identified, and had already banned public dining after 6 p.m.

Hong Kong has full vaccinated 73% of its eligible population. The number does not include children.

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TOKYO (AP) — Japan is considering easing its stringent border controls amid growing criticism that the measures, which have banned most foreign entrants including students and business travelers, are hurting the country's economy and international profile.

“I plan to look into easing the border controls,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters Saturday.

Kishida did not provide a timeline or other details and said he will make a decision based on a scientific assessment of the omicron variant, infection levels in and outside Japan and quarantine measures in other countries.

Currently, most of Japan is under virus-related restrictions but infections have shown little signs of slowing. Nationwide, Japan reported nearly 100,000 new cases in the latest 24-hour period, including 18,660 in Tokyo.

The current border measures are scheduled to remain in place until the end of February.

Japan has become one of the world’s most difficult countries to enter and critics compare it to the locked country, or “sakoku,” policy of xenophobic warlords who ruled Japan in the 17th to 19th centuries.