Thousands rally outside US embassy in Paris against police brutality in America & France

RT
Mon, 08 Jun 2020 15:35 UTC

© Reuters / Charles Platiau

George Floyd protest, near the U.S. Embassy in Paris.

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.

Comment: It seems the whole Western world is losing it's mind:

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Some 15,000 flocked to Alexanderplatz, a square in the center of the German capital on Saturday afternoon to voice solidarity with Black Lives Matter protests that have spread across the US. While the main rally, which kicked off around 2 pm local time and lasted for two hours, wrapped up without incident and saw protesters playing jazz music and clapping, the subsequent gatherings around the same area were marred by violence.

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A massive crowd has gathered in Madrid to show solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement, with some marching on the US embassy. Anti-racist demonstrations have spread across Europe in recent days.

Photos and videos show demonstrators marching through the streets of Madrid on Sunday as they hold banners reading "No justice, no peace" and other slogans used by Black Lives Matter activists. Other demonstrators were spotted "taking a knee" - an increasingly popular gesture meant to show solidarity with those who purportedly face discrimination from law enforcement.

Thousands of Black Lives Matter protesters march on US embassy in London

Droves of protesters have descended on the US embassy in London, in the city's fourth Black Lives Matter protest in a week. The demonstration comes a day after a similar protest in the city spiralled into mayhem.

The US embassy in Battersea, London, was the focal point for Sunday's Black Lives Matter march, in which demonstrators showed solidarity for George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota nearly two weeks ago.

As thousands of protesters, many with their faces covered, converged on the embassy, the UK cities of Bristol, Glasgow and Edinburgh also saw demonstrations.

WATCH protesters TEAR DOWN statue of slave trader in Bristol

A crowd of protesters has toppled a statue of famed slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, UK. Cheering as they danced on his effigy, they are just one of several groups to have targeted controversial monuments in recent weeks.

Colston was a 17th-century merchant and philanthropist, whose name graces several streets and schools in his native Bristol. However, his philanthropy was financed in part by the trading of slaves, and as Black Lives Matter protests swept the western world in recent weeks, a petition to have his statue in Bristol's Colston Avenue removed gained traction.

Protesters took matters into their own hands on Sunday though, lashing the bronze statue with chains and pulling it off its pedestal. As the figure hit the pavement with a thump, crowds of demonstrators jumped on it, screaming with excitement.

Black Lives Matter protest in Sweden descends into violence and vandalism

The Swedish city of Gothenburg has been shaken by street violence, after an initially peaceful 'Black Lives Matter' protest turned into a riot. Police clashed with demonstrators, who threw stones and smashed storefronts.

Defying the Swedish government's coronavirus guidelines - which ban gatherings of more than 50 people - an estimated 2,000 people assembled in the city of Gothenburg on Sunday, to show solidarity with the worldwide protests that broke out after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer nearly two weeks ago.

Although the protest began peacefully, by late afternoon groups of demonstrators began throwing bricks, stones, and flower pots at police officers. In one city park, thugs kicked and punched police officers, and fought with each other.

Cops and protesters brawl in London, as PM declares demonstrations 'subverted by thuggery'

The gathering at London's US embassy on Sunday drew thousands of people, and was the city's fourth 'Black Lives Matter' demonstration in a week. However, once the crowd dispersed, not everyone went home. Droves of people marched on Whitehall, rattling barriers outside Prime Minister Boris Johnson's residence on Downing Street.

That tension soon boiled over, with a mob of hoodlums attacking police officers outside the Foreign Office in Whitehall.