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French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on Saturday condemned violence against police during the demonstrations.
– 37 policemen were injured during the demonstrations, according to preliminary figures. Once again I condemn the unacceptable violence against the security forces, he writes in a Twitter message.
In Paris, 46,000 people took part in the demonstrations, according to government figures. There were clashes between protesters and the police and several fires started. Some protesters threw cobblestones at the police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons.
In the country as a whole, 133,000 participated in the protests, according to the Interior Ministry. Le Monde, on the other hand, writes that the number was 500,000, according to the organizers.
CONFLICTS: There were several clashes between protesters and police, and several fires were started. Photo: Alain JOCARD / AFP
Strong reactions
The bill, which has provoked many to react, may make it illegal to share photos of police officers on duty. It comes at the same time that a video of the police beating a black man has provoked strong reactions in the country.
Surveillance camera footage released by the Loopsider website shows police following the man, music producer Michel Zecler, and beginning to beat him inside his music studio. The background to the incident is that Zecler did not wear a mask.
The new bill will prohibit sharing photos or videos of police officers with the aim of damaging their “physical or psychological integrity.” However, civil rights groups and journalists are concerned that the law could harm press freedom and make police violence more difficult to detect.
Macron
President Emmanuel Macron has reacted to the violence against the music producer, saying in a statement Friday night that what happened was a shame.
Following the incident, a heated debate has erupted in which the French police are accused of racism.
“Police everywhere, justice nowhere”, “Police state” and “Smile while they beat you” were the letters of some of the records that protesters kept in Paris on Saturday. They marched from the Place de la République to the nearby Place de la Bastille.
(© NTB)
