A huge crowd protested outside the US embassy in central Paris over George Floyd’s death and the brutality of law enforcement in France, in violation of the ban on public gatherings introduced by the French capital.
Several hundred people came to Place de la Concorde, not far from the US embassy and the French Presidential Palace, despite the city authorities banning the rally due to the Covid-19 pandemic and violent outbursts during a similar event mid-week.
The protesters carried signs, reading “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe,” referring to what happened to African American man George Floyd who died in late May after a Minneapolis police officer detaining him knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.
“Justice for Adama” was also among the slogans chanted by the crowd. Adama Traore was a 24-year-old black man who died in French police custody in 2016. His case is still under investigation, but media reports claim that he was suffocated by officers as they tried to restrain him. Adama’s relatives already said that his death was the same as Floyd’s.
There was a heavy police presence in the area as law enforcement erected barriers to prevent the demonstrators from reaching the US embassy or President Emmanuel Macron’s residence.
The protesters then moved to nearby Champ de Mars where their numbers increased and chanting continued at the foot of the Eiffel Tower
However, unlike Tuesday’s rally, which was marred by clashes with police, this time the gatherings went on without serious incident.
Black Lives Matter protests also took place in other major cities across the globe on Saturday, including London, Berlin, Sydney, Tokyo and Seoul. The outrage over Floyd’s death has caused days of riots across the US, which saw clashes, buildings set on fire and large scale looting. The police have been using tear gas, rubber bullets and occasionally live fire against the protesters, but it has so far not been enough to curb the unrest.
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