George Floyd's funeral: protesters kneel on the ground in Paris

The emotion of the funeral of George Floyd, which took place in Houston Tuesday, June 9, was felt in France. They were about 2,400 demonstrators gathered in Place de la République, in Paris, according to the police headquarters, to pay tribute to the man who has become the symbol of police violence in the world.

>> Read also: George Floyd, icon of police violence around the world

Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI), Olivier Faure (PS), Yannick Jadot (EELV), Fabien Roussel (PCF) were among the hundreds of people gathered at the call of SOS Racism, echoing a ceremony in memory of George Floyd in Houston in the United States.

8 minutes 46 on his knees, this gives time to realize the cruelty of the murderous policeman of George Floyd. #Republic #BlackLivesMattters pic.twitter.com/Jh6gFoMdaB

"There is a movement that is emerging in awareness in the country against the horrible contamination of racism, where we would not want to see it, in an important body, the police," said Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who came to demonstrate with several leaders of his movement.

"We have to end the denial," he added. He welcomed the fact that Christophe Castaner, who announced the end of the strangulation immobilization procedure, recognizes that "gestures can kill". "The national police must be taken back in hand," added Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

"I invite the police to denounce their colleagues when they are racist and violent," he added.

The "solemn gathering" of Paris was supported by several unions (CGT, FSU, Unsa), political parties (EELV, PS, LFI, PCF), student and high school organizations (Fage, Unef, UNL), associations and NGOs (Ligue des human rights, MRAP, Cran).

These rallies, although prohibited by law due to the health crisis, will be tolerated, said Interior Minister Christophe Castaner on Tuesday.

To ease the controversy, Christophe Castaner announced on Monday measures to improve the ethics of the police, including a "zero tolerance" of racism. 

During a trip to the Paris region where he met the police, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe also tried to calm the controversy by calling for "respect and trust" vis-à-vis the police, but also to "the requirement", in a context of "very great" emotion.

With AFP

The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app