The streets of Paris were crowded with tens of thousands of demonstrators on Saturday. Protesters expressed discontent with police violence, with clashes breaking out on the margins of a Paris rally, according to France 24.
Three months ago, a police officer killed a young man at point-blank range in Paris during a traffic check, sparking riots in Paris and other cities for a week. In Paris, demonstrators of all ages held placards reading “Stop state violence”, “Do not forgive and forget” or “The law kills”, as well as a statue of justice with its eyes crossed out in red.
Article 435-1 of the Internal Security Code, adopted in 2017, drew particular attention from the demonstrators. This article authorises an agent of the law to shoot if a suspect refuses to comply. Demonstrators responded to the call of left-wing forces, including the hard-left organisation France Unbowed (LFI).
Union officials say about 80,000 people are taking part in the protests in total, with 15,000 in Paris. However, the Interior Ministry gave other figures: 31,300 across France, including 9,000 in the capital. The government condemned “unacceptable violence” on the sidelines of the march in Paris after an attack on a police vehicle left officers trapped inside, AFP reports. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on X, formerly Twitter, denouncing “unacceptable violence” against the police:
We see where anti-police hatred leads.
According to Paris police chief Laurent Nunez, three people have been arrested over the incident. The Interior Ministry reports that three more people were arrested in other parts of France.
The protest follows the publication of a report by the IGPN inspectorate, which investigates police misconduct, on the use of force by police officers. The report states that in 2022, 38 people died as a result of police action, including 22 who were shot dead. 13 of these cases involved refusal to obey a police order.
