PARIS: Police and demonstrators clashed in Paris on Saturday as tens of thousands took to the streets to protest against new security legislation, a controversy intensified by the beating and racial abuse of a black man that shocked France.
The demonstrations against the security law — which would restrict the publication of police officers’ faces — took place nationwide with 46,000 marching in Paris according to the government and several fires erupting after clashes.
President Emmanuel Macron said late Friday that the images of the beating of black music producer Michel Zecler by police officers in Paris 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 instiutionalised racism from the police,” said Mohamed Magassa 35, who works in a reception centre for minors. There were tensions in Paris as a car, newspaper kiosk and brasserie were set on fire close to the Place de la Bastille, police said. Some protesters threw stones at the security forces who responded by firing tear gas, an AFP correspondent said. Police complained that protesters were impeding fire services from putting out the blazes and said nine people had been detained by the early evening.
Thousands also took part in other marches in France, including in Bordeaux, Lille, Montpellier and Nantes.
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