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Image posted, ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT
A French protester, kneeling on the ground, raised his fist to the sky, next to a burning car
Dozens of protesters clashed with police in the French capital, Paris, in further demonstrations against the controversial “comprehensive security” bill.
Police fired tear gas after masked protesters broke shop windows and set several cars on fire.
Nearly 100 demonstrations were planned across the country on Saturday due to the law that places restrictions on the publication of photos of police faces.
Opponents of the bill say it undermines freedom of the press to document police brutality.
And France has seen weekly protests across the country over the bill. The protests escalated after a video of three white police officers racially treating and beating a black music producer.
The images showing Michel Zeclair being kicked and beaten in his studio in Paris came as a shock in France.
In response to the backlash that followed the incident, President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling party said last week that parts of the law would be rewritten. But that wasn’t enough to appease the bill’s opponents.
On Friday, Macron admitted, in a direct interview with “Prut”, a news site focused on youth issues, that “there are violent individuals in the police” and said: “They must be punished.”
Dozens of protesters clashed with police in the French capital, Paris, in further demonstrations against the controversial “comprehensive security” bill.
Image posted, ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT
French riot police surround them during their clash with protesters
What happened on Saturday?
Thousands of people, including members of the anti-government “Yellow Vests” movement, marched in peaceful demonstrations in the capital before clashes broke out between the police and the pockets of protesters wearing black clothes with their faces covered and who began firing projectiles at the riot police. According to the agency “Reuters”.
The windows of a supermarket, a real estate agency and a bank were smashed, according to the agency “Agence France Presse”, and the police responded to the violence by firing tear gas.
He added that some protesters erected makeshift barricades and set fire to them.
The BFM television channel quoted Paris police as saying that some 500 protesters had infiltrated the protest. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanen said 22 people had been arrested due to these incidents.
Police made a strong deployment in the capital in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the violent clashes that were seen there late last week due to the same law, which left dozens of injuries.
Peaceful protests took place elsewhere in France, including Marseille, Lyon, and Renée.
In his interview with “Pruitt” on Friday, President Macron criticized previous acts of violence in Paris, for which he blamed the “madmen.”
He said a national online platform for people to report unnecessary police checks, whose members will carry body cameras on a larger scale, would be launched starting in June 2021.
Why is the proposed bill controversial?
Article 24 of the proposed legislation criminalizes the publication of photographs of police officers while on duty with the intention of damaging their “physical or psychological integrity”.
It says the perpetrators could face up to a year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros ($ 53,840).
The government says the bill does not jeopardize the rights of the media and ordinary citizens to report police abuse; It is only intended to provide protection to police officers.
But opponents say that without those photos, none of the incidents that occurred over the past week would have emerged.
