Protest in Paris over death of black man in US

WEB DESK / Agencies

A large number of people in paris joined a banned protest over George Floyd’s death in the US, racial injustice and police violence. It began peacefully, but later fires were lit and police reportedly replied with tear gas.

Police fired tear gas at protesters who were demonstrating against the deaths of black men in police custody.

Thousands of people gathered at Paris’ main courthouse to show solidarity with US protesters denouncing the killing of George Floyd and to condemn the death of a black man — Adama Traore — in French police custody in 2016.

Many of the protesters had taken a knee and raised their fist as police officers and firefighters struggled to disperse crowds and tackle small blazes.

Police said on Twitter that they had intervened because the protests were technically outlawed under coronavirus-related measures. They also argued that the “tone” of the protest call aroused fears of trouble in a sensitive location.
By late evening, authorities said a few groups remained in the area and demanded that all demonstrators go home.

According to reports the general feeling in France is that there has not been much change since the death of Traore. In the past few years, a number of demonstrations — in particular the yellow vest protests — have been marred by police violence.

“Parliament is even discussing a new law that would prohibit people from disseminating images of police officers,” Louis said. “Many people fear that would remove their protection against police violence.”