Thousands of people march in France against police violence

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The shock wave caused by the death of George Floyd in the United States continues to spread. As in many other countries, France also experienced demonstrations against racism and police violence on Saturday 6 June. Several thousand people marched across the country demanding "justice for all".

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Closely monitored by the authorities, anti-racist rallies in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Lille or Marseille paid tribute to this African-American who died at the hands of the police , and castigated the "racism" and "impunity" which would reign in the police in France.

► Also to listen: Video of the death of George Floyd: what the analysis of the images says

In the capital, several thousand people defied the prefectural bans linked to Covid-19 to gather at Place de la Concorde, near the American Embassy, ​​and, later, on the Champ-de-Mars, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

In Bordeaux, at least 2,500 people marched behind banners denouncing a "  racist police  ", before observing, kneeling and for some with their fists raised, a long minute of silence.

In Lyon, several thousand people gathered in the city center while in Nice 2,500 people knelt on Place Massena, at the foot of the statue of Apollo, in memory of George Floyd.

"  France is drowning in its racism. We denounce the police violence and the denial of silence of the institutions  ”, assured in Lyon Arkya Sedime, member of the collective of Afro-descendants.

In Marseille, several thousand people set off from the Old Port in the early evening to go up part of the Canebière. “  There is no longer a presumption of innocence. We qualify people in advance on their physique,  ”commented Ouiam el-Hamdani, a law student in Marseille.

Almost all of them took place in calm even if incidents broke out at the end of the demonstration in Metz when the prosecutor was slightly injured in the nose by the jet of a pebble.

► Read also: Demonstrations: the whole world pays tribute to George Floyd

The government admits "a certain uneasiness"

Objects of recurrent polemics in recent years, the accusations of police violence coupled with those of racism had already found a new echo Tuesday evening at Paris.

At least 20,000 people responded to the call from the family of Adama Traoré, who died in 2016 after his arrest in the Val-d'Oise, sealing an unprecedented mobilization .

Put under pressure, the government refuted the existence of any "  structural racism  " within the police force but ended up admitting the existence of a "  certain uneasiness  ".

On the front line, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has promised to be "  uncompromising  " in the face of any tangible sign of racism among the police.

Friday, the minister brought to justice after the revelation of the existence of a private group on Facebook reserved for the police and where racist messages are exchanged. The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation.

♦ Massive mobilization across the planet

From the United Kingdom to Australia, via Tunisia, the demonstrators defied the calls of the authorities to stay at home because of the health crisis in an unprecedented protest movement which was grafted on that which set the states ablaze -United.

After several hours of peaceful assembly, incidents broke out at the end of the day near Downing Street in central London. Projectiles like bottles were launched on the police who loaded on horseback in an attempt to disperse the demonstrators.

Gathered before near the nearby Parliament, thousands of people, their faces often covered with a mask, but without necessarily respecting the rules of distancing, had held up signs bearing the slogan Black Lives Matter.

In Australia, the first country to open the international ball of indignation on Saturday, thousands of people demonstrated across the country, brandishing "I can't breathe" banners, in reference to the complaint by George Floyd, whose his neck was obstructed for almost nine minutes by the knee of the police officer who arrested him for a minor crime.

For the organizers, this affair finds many echoes in their country: they also wanted to denounce the very high imprisonment rate among the Aborigines, and the deaths - more than 400 in the last thirty years - of members of this community while they were detained by the police.

In Germany, tens of thousands of demonstrators marched across the country in the afternoon. Players of the championship leader Bayern Munich also showed their solidarity by warming up on Saturday with a t-shirt that reads "Red card against racism - BlackLiveMatters" before the Bundesliga game against Leverkusen.

In the central square of Turin (northern Italy), young demonstrators observed eight minutes of silence while in Tunis, around 200 people claimed to be able to “breathe” in the face of racism, which “stifles” in this country where migrants from sub-Saharan Africa often claim to be victims of verbal and physical assault.

In Warsaw, a thousand people, often young and dressed in black, were joined by the left presidential candidate Robert Biedron, his face masked.

( With AFP)

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