‘No police, no peace’: French cops reject government chokehold ban (VIDEOS)
French police have marched in protest through central Paris, saying the government is denying them life-saving tools with its new ban on chokehold and chest-pinning, imposed in the wake of the death of George Floyd in the US.
A French police union staged a protest march from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs-Elysees boulevard on Friday morning, with dozens of police vehicles gathering in front of the iconic Paris landmark.
🔴 Action en cours de la police pour protester contre les dernières mesures ce Christophe Castaner pic.twitter.com/Dk4Y1AbI1V
— Jordan Klein (@JordanKln) June 12, 2020
One van carried a poster showing graphic images of injuries sustained by police in the line of duty and the words: “Who is massacring who?” Another slogan asked why nobody was talking about the hate and physical assault targeting officers.
🔴Action des policiers en cours à #Paris sur les Champs-Élysées à l’appel du Syndicat Alliance Police (@alliancepolice) après les annonces de Christophe Castaner sur le racisme dans la #police et les techniques d’interpellation. pic.twitter.com/eLRIaXCVXf
— Charles Baudry (@CharlesBaudry) June 12, 2020
The vehicles and officers on foot moved down the boulevard. A large poster saying “No police, no peace” was carried in front of the procession.
« On y arrive » dis un manifestantsLes policier à quelques pas des fenêtres de Christophe Castaner à place beauvau pic.twitter.com/ihwiRO4lre
— Jordan Klein (@JordanKln) June 12, 2020
The protest, organized by the National Police Alliance, comes in response to a decision taken earlier this week by Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, which banned the use of some restraining techniques. The French police were told they could not use chokeholds during arrest or pin a suspect to the ground by pressing on their chest.
On Thursday, policemen across France threw their handcuffs to the ground in a symbolic gesture.
Menottes jettées au sol devant la préfecture de police de Bobigny. Les policiers en colère estiment ne plus avoir les moyens d’interpeller les correctement suite aux annonces de Castaner. pic.twitter.com/TpGDPcPwWB
— Clément Lanot (@ClementLanot) June 11, 2020
France is among the Western nations which have felt an aftershock of nationwide outrage over the death of George Floyd in the US. The country’s police have a long history of accusations of brutality and excessive use of force against protesters.
The march in central Paris comes a day before a planned rally against police brutality. Police fear violence during the rally, so they have asked shops in districts from Republique to Opera to stay closed on Saturday.
Also on rt.com France bans police use of chokehold arrests amid ongoing George Floyd protestsThat event is dedicated to Adama Traore, a black Frenchman who died on his 24th birthday in 2016 after officers pinned him to the ground during an arrest.
The case is notorious in France and has been compared to that of Flynn in the US. Several autopsies of Traore’s body resulted in conflicting conclusions as to what caused his death, with one blaming asphyxiation. The officers involved in the arrest were exonerated by an internal investigation.
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