Earl, African-American, and Annabelle, white skinned and French, demonstrated together with their young son Saturday in Paris against racism and police violence in the United States and in France. The couple explains to the microphone of Europe 1 the reasons for their presence on the streets despite the coronavirus.

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Four days after the demonstration in front of the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance where more than 20,000 people gathered to demand justice for Adama Traoré, a young black man who died shortly after his arrest by gendarmes in Beaumont-sur-Oise in July 2016, new rallies were organized on Saturday, against racism and police violence. In Paris, in the midst of the 5,500 people present on the Champ-de-Mars, a couple alone symbolized the world movement that occurred after the death of George Floyd, on May 25. 

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"Justice is not the same for everyone"

Earl, an African American from Chicago, and Annabelle, white skinned and French, who live together in Paris, paraded with their young son. For them, the deaths of George Floyd and Adama Traore are comparable. "Everything you can see in the United States, you can also see in France," said Earl at the microphone of Europe 1. The American thus justifies the large number of demonstrators in Paris, despite the coronavirus. "The French saw this video (of Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd, editor's note ) and they made the link with what they live at home in France: there is an injustice".

His partner joins him. "Justice is not the same for everyone and the case of Adama Traoré illustrates this," says Annabelle. "It is not possible that in 2020, with all the modernity we have, we will also be backward in our practices," she believes. 

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"The life of a black man means something, there as here"

So, for the couple, it was "very important" to come and demonstrate with their son. "The life of a black man means something, there as here," summed up Earl. Like him, Annabelle is worried about the conditions in which her child will grow up. "I know it will be controlled more than I have been, white in France," she regrets, explaining that she has never been controlled alone on the street. 

In order for the current situation to change and for his son to grow up without the fear of a police check, Earl is convinced: "everyone needs support".