Four years after the death of Adama Traoré during an arrest, a march is planned for Saturday in Beaumont-sur-Oise, co-organized for the first time by his relatives and environmental activists, in a new context of mobilizations against the police violence and inequality.
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A joint appeal by the Adama Committee and one of the main climate organizations
The demonstration in memory of this young black man, who died on July 19, 2016 shortly after his arrest at the end of a chase with the gendarmes, will result from the joint and unprecedented appeal of the Adama Committee and Alternatiba, one of the main climate movement organizations. Because they share the "same fights", this "common mobilization" will be an opportunity "to strengthen an important alliance for the construction of a popular ecology, alongside the populations on the front line of injustices and pollution", Elodie Nace, spokesperson for Alternatiba, said in a press release.
For the Adama Committee, it is also a question of broadening its base, in the wake of the two large rallies in Paris before the tribunal de grande instance and Place de la République, on June 2 and 13, which had drained thousands of demonstrators . The affair returned to the front of the media scene following the death in May, in the United States, of George Floyd, whose echo opened in France a new chapter of mobilization against police violence and racism.
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"This year is a bit special because we are at a turning point, there have been massive mobilizations in Paris (...) I think there will be more people outside this cause, it will be wider, "said Youcef Brakni, member of the Adama Committee. The meeting, in this small town of Val-d'Oise about forty kilometers from the capital, has already aggregated the struggles, according to the social climate. Last year, yellow vests had called to hold their "act 36" there. Once again, left-wing elected officials and NGOs such as the League for Human Rights will be present.
Bus departures before reaching the starting point of the walk
To get to Beaumont-sur-Oise, accessible by train, common bus departures are planned from certain cities such as Ivry-sur-Seine, or Montreuil which is already sold out. The walk, wearing a mandatory mask, must leave from Persan Beaumont station at 1:30 p.m. This fourth edition also doubles as a festival with personalities and artists, whose names have not been revealed by the organizers.
But the afternoon will remain solemn, because "what is at the center is Adama", assures Youcef Brakni, inviting all those "who find it not normal that in France, four years later, a family is still awaiting a trial , fair justice. "