The French authorities have banned people from marching in central Paris to honour Adama Traoré, a 24-year-old black man who died in police custody in 2016.
After a court challenge to overrule a ban on the march being held in the Val-d’Oise, north-west of Paris, failed on Friday, organisers announced it would take place instead at Place de la Républic in the capital.
However, on Saturday morning the Paris police prefecture banned the second march saying it had not been given sufficient notice to mobilise enough officers to ensure it passed off peacefully.
Laurent Nuñez, the head of the Paris police, said the march was “likely to attract radical elements with a view to committing acts of violence; the reasons which led the prefect of Val-d’Oise to ban the gathering [there].”
He said permission for public demonstrations must be requested three days before an event.
The authorities are anxious to avoid a reprise of the six nights of unrest that followed a police officer shooting dead 17-year-old Nahel during a traffic stop.
Saturday’s march was in memory of Traoré, who his family allege was pinned to the ground by officers and died of asphyxiation.
The organising committee said the march was a “precious and necessary commemoration for our families and for all those who defend equality and want an end to police impunity”.
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Traoré’s case, and the justice campaign led by his sister Assa, has become symbolic in France. In recent years he has been described as “France’s George Floyd”, a reference to the US case of an unarmed black man who died from asphyxiation after a white officer knelt on his neck in 2020. There have been no charges in the Traoré case, which the family want brought to court.
Two other demonstrations are due to take place at Place de la République: one in solidarity with Palestine and a second by the Union of Ukrainians.
Further demonstrations over Nahel’s killing are planned in several French cities over the weekend, including in Marseille and Strasbourg.
More than 3,700 people have been taken into police custody in connection with the protests since Nahel’s death, including at least 1,160 minors, according to official figures.
2023-07-08 07:15:11
Article from www.theguardian.com