Detentions, injuries after anti-racism protests in Europe

After a day of anti-racism protests across Europe, Berlin police said 93 people were detained in connection with a demonstration in the German capital — most of them after the main rally had ended.

More anti-racism demonstrations were planned for yesterday across the UK., including one outside the US Embassy, just south of the River Thames.

At least 15,000 people had rallied peacefully in Berlin on Saturday in response to the May 25 death of American George Floyd, which has triggered global protests against racism and police brutality.

Police said several officers and one press photographer were injured in Berlin when bottles and rocks were thrown from a crowd that had gathered despite police orders to clear the city’s Alexander Square an hour after the demonstration was over. Berlin police said 28 officers suffered minor injuries in the scuffles.

Floyd, a black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee on his neck even after he pleaded for air while handcuffed.

In Britain, the country’s most senior police chief said 14 officers were injured Saturday during clashes with protesters in central London following a largely peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration attended by tens of thousands.

Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said the assaults on officers were “shocking and completely unacceptable.” She said a number of arrests have been made and “justice will follow.”

The clashes broke out in the early evening near the Downing Street offices of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Video footage online showed one police officer colliding with a traffic light when her horse appeared to have bolted. The Met Police said the officer was taken to the hospital and her injuries are not life-threatening.

In the French port city of Marseille, police fired tear gas and pepper spray in skirmishes with protesters who hurled bottles and rocks at what had otherwise been an emotional but peaceful demonstration Saturday.

The rally drew more than 2,000 people. Protesters took a knee in front of riot officers, gave speeches and chanted before setting off on a march through the city from its famous Old Port on the Mediterranean. But the tail end of the march finished in chaos with clashes between police and protesters.

The protest was one of several Saturday in France, where Floyd’s death has shone a spotlight on similar French police abuses and given voice to complaints from minorities that they are frequent targets of harassment and worse from French officers.

An anti-racism march was also held Saturday in Paris despite a police ban but it came off peacefully.