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FIRE AND FURY
George Floyd protests break out around the world as anger grows and violent riots erupt over Paris
PROTESTS have broken out across all corners of the globe, from Paris to Stockholm and Sydney, as the world reels in the wake of the death of black American George Floyd.
Violence erupted over Paris last night as thousands took to the streets, calling for an end to police brutality and racial injustice.
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Floyd's death has sent shock waves across the world after he died at the hands of a white police officer who pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes while pleading for air.
On Tuesday, riot police fired volleys of tear gas at Paris protesters, who assembled at the city's main courthouse, the Paris Tribunal, despite a coronavirus ban.
At least 20,000 demonstrators turned up to show their support, wearing placards declaring "France is outraged by the death of George Floyd".
The Paris demonstration was originally planned to pay homage to Adama Traore, a French black man who died in police custody, drawing comparisons to Floyd's death in the US.
Traore, a 24-year-old black Frenchman of Malian origin who died in similar circumstances to George Floyd in July 2016.
But Didier Lallement, the Paris police prefect, said it could not go ahead because of Coronavirus restrictions on public demonstrations.
He also said feared disturbances, and later added that police in the Paris regions were "neither violent nor racist".
HUGE CROWDS
Huge crowds turned up anyway, and by 9.30pm fires had been lit underneath the Paris ring road.
Projectiles including fireworks were also being thrown at the police, who estimated the crowd number at 20,000.
Tear gas and baton charges were used by officers as protesters burned trash bins, scooters and bicycles in the street.
"Gangs are getting on to the road and stopping the traffic too," said a demonstrator at the scene.
"The fires are huge – it’s getting very ugly indeed."
Mr Traore had run away from a police check in Beaumont-sur-Oise, a town north of Paris, and hours later died at a nearby police station.
The vague circumstances of the incident have led to allegations of a state cover-up, and his family have been fighting for justice ever since.
They say he died from asphyxiation caused by officers, while police claim Mr Traore died from a heart attack due to pre-existing medical condition.
In a new video message posted on social media on Tuesday, Mr Traore’s sister, Assa Traore, said people should show their anger "at a time when the world, when France is outraged by the death of George Floyd".
She said both Mr Traore and Mr Floyd had used the same words, their last words: 'I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,' and said medical experts working for the police were releasing reports that were "racist and untrue".
GOING GLOBAL
Cities across Europe also joined the cause as protesters wearing face masks held up placards and raised clenched fists during a Black Lives Matter protest outside the Houses of Parliament in central London today.
Protestors marched down Whitehall with loudspeakers and gathered across London parks.
And over in The Hague, mask-wearing demonstrators spaced themselves apart while holding signs on a large lawn.
Sweden's capital of Stockholm saw large crowds hold placards during a silent protest across the city.
About 3,000 people in Sydney marched under police escort to show solidarity but also to call for change in Australia's treatment of its indigenous population, particularly by police.
Protesters assembled at Hyde Park before marching to the NSW Parliament building and then onto Martin Place
And in Tel Aviv, more than 200 protesters assembled outside the US diplomatic mission.
Protesters also marched in Argentina, Canada, Brazil and New Zealand, to name just a few.
RACIST VIOLENCE
There are frequent complaints about racist violence carried out by the French police, particularly in incidents involving young black men, or those from Arab backgrounds.
In 2017 four officers were accused of anally violating a 22-year-old called Theo Luhaka with a telescopic truncheon, causing him lifelong injuries, in the Paris suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois.
It comes as police also face criminal charges for a series of allegedly racist attacks as they enforced curfews and other tough law and order measures during the Coronavirus crisis.
Prosecutors opened an enquiry in April after a 30-year-old motorcyclist from an Arab Muslim background was critically injured following a collision with an unmarked police car in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, which is less than 10 miles from central Paris.
This led to emergency workers including police becoming the target of rioters, who threw rocks and fireworks.
Earlier in the month, prosecutors in Béziers, in the south of France, announced that officers were facing criminal charges after a father-of-three died while under arrest for breaching the Coronavirus lockdown.
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Three officers were videoed dragging Mohamed Gabsi, 33, along the ground during a curfew.
They are suspected of ‘intentional violence by a public official leading to manslaughter’ and ‘non assistance of a person in danger’.
The offences come with a potential combined prison sentence of 15 years plus, said local prosecutors.
The case is particularly sensitive because Mr Gabsi was a Muslim, and Béziers is run by a far-Right mayor who is supported by the National Rally party, which used to be called the National Front.
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