French cops under fire for ‘racist’ checks

– French police conduct discriminatory identity checks on black and Arab men, Human Rights Watch charged yesterday, as angry protests over alleged racism in the security forces sweep across the country.

France has seen numerous demonstrations in recent weeks protesting the actions of police, many coalescing around the 2016 death of young black man Adama Traore in police custody, which activists say echoes George Floyd’s killing in the US.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the French police have “overly

broad” powers “to conduct discriminatory and abusive checks on black and Arab boys and men”, leaving too much room for arbitrary and biased decisions.

“There is evidence that identity checks in France drive a deep wedge between communities and the police,” HRW’s France director Benedicte Jeannerod said.

The report comes as France is reeling from allegations of institutionalised racism in the ranks of its police, an accusation vehemently rejected by police forces who say the problems are down to individual members.

French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged in a national address on Sunday that France had to fight against the fact that “the name, the address, the colour of the skin” can affect a person’s chances in their lives.

But Macron defended France’s under-fire police force, saying they “deserve public support and the recognition of the nation for their work”.

On Tuesday his government backtracked on a ban on the use of chokeholds by the police after a backlash by police unions.

– AFP