VIOLENCE IN FRANCE OVER LAW
133,000 march nationwide to protest new security legislation
VIOLENT clashes erupted here on Saturday as tens of thousands took to the streets to protest against new security legislation, with tensions intensified by the police beating and racial abuse of a black man that shocked France.
Several fires were started in Paris, sending acrid smoke into the air, as protesters vented their anger against the security law that would restrict the publication of police officers’ faces.
Some 46,000 people marched here and 133,000 in total nationwide, the Home Ministry said. Protest organisers said some 500,000 joined nationwide, including 200,000 here.
President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that the images of the beating of black music producer Michel Zecler by police officers here last weekend “shame us”. The incident had magnified concerns about alleged systemic racism in the police force.
“Police everywhere, justice nowhere” and “police state” and “smile while you are beaten” were among the slogans brandished as protesters marched from Place de la Republique to the nearby Place de la Bastille.
“We have felt for a long time to have been the victim of institutionalised racism from the police,” said Mohamed Magassa 35, who works in a reception centre for minors. “But now we feel that this week, all of France has woken up.”
Sophie Misiraca, 46, a lawyer, said: “The fundamental and basic liberties of our democracy are being attacked, freedom of expression and information.”
Several cars, a newspaper kiosk and a brasserie were set on fire near Place de la Bastille, police said.
Some protesters threw stones at the security forces, who responded by firing tear gas and using water cannon, a reporter said.
Police said protesters impeded fire services from putting out the blazes, adding that nine people had been detained.
Home Minister Gerald Darmanin condemned “unacceptable” violence against the police, saying 37 members of the security forces had been injured nationwide.
Thousands took part in other marches in some 70 cities in France, including in Bordeaux, Lille, Montpellier and Nantes.
An investigation had been opened against the four police involved, but commentators said the images — first published by the Loopsider news site — might never have been made public if the contentious Article 24 of the security legislation was made law.
The article would criminalise the publication of images of onduty police officers with the intent of harming their “physical or psychological integrity”. It was passed by the National Assembly although it is awaiting Senate approval.