Death of George Floyd in Minneapolis: emotion grows in the United States

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A curfew was declared Friday, May 29, in Minneapolis where the police officer implicated in the death of George Floyd, this black American whose death revived the racial wounds of the United States, was arrested and charged with manslaughter after several days of riots. Calm seems to have returned, but mobilization against racism remains strong and demonstrations have taken place across the country.

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The situation is now rather calm in Minneapolis, this Friday, May 29 in the evening. Despite sporadic clashes and some incidents, the situation has nothing to do with the anger that was expressed previously, even if some activists continue to call for violent protests, underlines our special envoy on the spot , Eric de Salve .

Demonstrate again

This crowd gathered around the improvised mausoleum in front of the store where George Floyd was killed. Megaphone, activists launched the slogan "  No Justice No Peace  " ( "  no justice, no peace  ") to call to manifest yet, despite the curfew imposed from 20h to 6 am, despite also the arrest and charge of the police officer who killed this 46-year-old black father by suffocating him with his knee.

It was one of the great demands of the protesters. At the scene of the tragedy, two activists from the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement at the forefront of the protests want to continue the demonstrations. For the latter, who rebelled strongly, “  right now, we blacks, with our allies, we are at war. It's impossible to resolve this peacefully. As long as the four police officers are not behind bars  . ” For the other, “  the cops must understand that you cannot kill black people without reason. It's not just about these four policemen. This applies to all police officers. They must stop seeing our skin color as a threat. It is not because my skin is black that I am a threat. That's what the cops need to understand . "

Calls for further violent action do not seem to be fully followed at this time. Some fires are reported but it has nothing to do with those of Thursday evening. From the start of the police and national guard curfew fired several barrages of tear gas dispersing the first demonstrators, and the rioters have not returned en masse to the streets of Minneapolis for the moment.

Anger spreads

In the United States, the anger movement is spreading to other cities, Washington, Atlanta or New York, says our correspondent in this city , Loubna Anaki . Protesters denounce the death of George Floyd and condemn the police violence and racism in the country. In the port city, three demonstrations took place yesterday. Several hundred people participated ...

"  I am black and I have the right to live!  Repeats the crowd. In the heart of Manhattan, hundreds of people gathered in memory of George Floyd. Despite the confinement still in force, they wanted to denounce the police violence against the black community.

For this woman, "  we are in the middle of a pandemic, but we cannot do nothing and allow people to violate our right to justice  ". "  We have been oppressed for too long ," declares this man, " we have been fighting for too long, we have died for too long." Today we get up and fight!  "

"  I am tired  "

Another man gets carried away: “  I am tired of seeing my people die every day. To the point where I am afraid to go out, afraid to speak to a police officer, to take the metro on the bus and just afraid to live  . ” Around the demonstration, an important security device was installed: police on foot, in cars, helicopters ... And when tension increased between certain demonstrators and the police, the crowd called for calm.

No way to give in to violence. Although many understand the looting and violence that took place in Minneapolis, like this protester: "  Unfortunately, I think that today, businesses must be destroyed or looted so that the government can finally pay attention to what is going on  " If the Manhattan demonstration ended without incident, in Brooklyn, the face-to-face with the police was more tense. Dozens of protesters were arrested.

Read also: Death of George Floyd in Minneapolis: the police officer in question arrested and imprisoned

This Friday, the president of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, condemned in a press release the death of George Floyd in the United States. The latter, through his spokesperson, Ebba Kalondo, condemns all discriminatory practices in this country.

The Chairperson of the AU Commission rejects discriminatory practices against black citizens in the United States.

Ebba Kalondo, spokesperson for the African Union

Lucie Mouillaud

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• United States
• Racism
• Human rights

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