Thousands of people set foot in tribute to George Floyd

Global mobilization. From London to Sydney, thousands of people braved the coronavirus pandemic this Saturday to put an end to racism and police brutality, an unprecedented worldwide outrage sparked by the death of the American black George Floyd, asphyxiated by a white police officer in late May in Minneapolis.

In London, ignoring official instructions to distance themselves to counter the spread of the new coronavirus, their faces covered with a protective mask for some, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the Parliament, holding up banners with the slogan "Black Lives Matter ”.

'This is the scene, right now, in central London.

'Despite the rain, thousands are standing in solidarity with the family of George Floyd'⁰⁰ # BlackLivesMatter protests are taking place throughout the UK today

More here: https://t.co/d2OpCxkMTo pic.twitter.com/oaTU6BZDuZ

"The United Kingdom is not innocent," denounced the demonstrators, beating drums. As in the British capital, many of them in Manchester (north-west) also paraded to remind them that "being black is not a crime" and "putting an end to racism", another "pandemic".

Racism, "a scourge that suffocates us"

Australia was the first this Saturday to open the ball of global outrage. Thousands of people demonstrated across the country, brandishing "I can't breathe" banners, referring to the complaint made by George Floyd, whose neck was obstructed for nearly nine minutes by the knee of the police officer who l 'had arrested for a minor offense.

A sea of ​​closets over Brisbane's Victoria Bridge @abcnews @abcbrisbane pic.twitter.com/PR6TgmPPkl

The demonstrators took the opportunity to denounce the very high imprisonment rate among the Aborigines, and the deaths of members of this community while they were detained by the police (more than 400 in the last thirty years). "The fact that they tried to stop us from parading makes people want to do it even more," said Jumikah Donovan, among the crowd in Sydney.

In Tunis, around 200 people demanded "justice" and to be able to "breathe" in the face of racism, which "stifles". "This scourge also exists in Tunisia," said an official of the Tunisian association for the support of minorities, while migrants from sub-Saharan Africa often claim to be victims of verbal and physical aggression in the country. In Liege, in eastern Belgium, 700 people defied the ban and participated in a march against racism, according to the police.

"Amplifying the international solidarity movement"

Also in France, the object of recurrent controversy in recent years, accusations of police violence coupled with those of racism have rebounded in the wake of the global indignation aroused by the death of George Floyd. In Paris, two demonstrations planned this Saturday against police violence, to "amplify the international movement of solidarity against the impunity of the police", were banned because of the health crisis.

Despite the ban on assembling, many demonstrators against #ViolencesPolicieres and #racisme found themselves on the Place de la #Concorde in #Paris. A major #police system has been put in place to block access to the #Embassy embassy. pic.twitter.com/6RaAwUua7Q

A few hundred people were however gathered in the early afternoon near the American embassy. Calls for rallies were also launched in other cities in France, and others are scheduled for Sunday including London and Madrid.

Epicenter of anger, fueled by new examples of police brutality, the United States also expects massive rallies this Saturday. Tens of thousands of people are expected in Washington under a blazing sun.

Important gatherings are also announced in many American cities, in particular in New York, Miami, or Minneapolis, where George Floyd died and where the riots started. After a first moving ceremony in Minneapolis on Thursday, a second tribute will be paid to him in Raeford, in his native state of North Carolina.

World

Death of George Floyd: "It's a great day for him", the polemical phrase of Donald Trump

• Demonstration
• Racism
• Police violence
• United States
• Minneapolis
• George Floyd
• World