Thousands of Parisians protest George Floyd’s death as global outrage mounts
Global outrage mounted in the police killing of George Floyd, with thousands of protesters taking to the streets and chanting “I can’t breathe!” in several European countries, including France, the Netherlands, and Britain, as well as in Iran, New Zealand and other parts of the world.
Nearly 15,000 people in Paris defied the government’s orders restricting large gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic to protest Floyd’s death while in custody of Minneapolis cops, racial injustice and police abuse of power around the world, according to reports.
The demonstrators took a knee and raised their fists Tuesday while firefighters fought to snuff out several blazes as a mostly peaceful, multiracial protest devolved into scattered tensions that resulted in the use of tear gas by police.
Video released by BFM TV appeared to show a group of protesters burning a Colonial American flag with French and American names inscribed on the white stripes, according to the Washington Post.
The protest, which was organized by “Justice for Adama,” also sought to raise awareness about incidents similar to Floyd’s killing, including Adama Traoré, a 24-year-old black man who died in custody of French police in 2016.
Demonstrators carried signs with both men’s names along with the words Floyd said while a Minneapolis cop knelt on his neck: “I can’t breathe.”
In Traoré’s case, police were accused of jumping on the construction worker’s back and suffocating him.
“Today, it’s no longer the fight of the Traoré family — it’s all of your fight,” Assa Traoré, Adama’s sister and one of the march’s organizers, told the crowds Tuesday, the Washington Post reported.
“Today, when we fight for George Floyd, we fight for Adama Traoré,” she added.
Paris protester Xavier Dintimille said: “This happened in the United States, but it happens in France, it happens everywhere,” adding that while police violence seems worse in the US, “all blacks live this to a degree.”
The demonstrations in France came amid a growing global outage over Floyd’s death.
In the Netherlands, about 10,000 demonstrators filled Amsterdam’s Dam square this week, ignoring calls for social distancing and shouting “Black lives matter!” and “No justice, no peace!” according to Reuters.
The crowd blocked traffic but no violence was reported.
“Black women’s lives, black trans lives, black disabled lives,” anti-racism activist Naomie Pieter called out to the crowd from a stage, according to NPR.
“Matter!” the demonstrators yelled to each exclamation.
In London, a protester held a sign reading “The UK isn’t innocent,” as hundreds took a knee in Trafalgar Square for nine minutes, signifying roughly the amount of time former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd to the ground, the outlet reported.
The protesters marched along the Thames and to the US Embassy, chanting “Black lives matter” and carrying placards with slogans such as “Racism is a global issue,” “Your silence is deafening” and “How many more?”
On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned Floyd’s killing but declined to say whether he had spoken about the issue with President Trump, according to Agence France-Presse.
“I think what happened in the United States was appalling, inexcusable,” Johnson told lawmakers in parliament, in his first public comment on the explosive case.
“We all saw it on our screens and I perfectly understand people’s right to protest what took place,” he said. “Obviously I also believe that protests should take place in a lawful and reasonable way.”
Johnson’s comments echoed a statement by British police chiefs.
“We stand alongside all those across the globe who are appalled and horrified by the way George Floyd lost his life,” they said in a joint statement. “We are also appalled to see the violence and damage that has happened in so many US cities since then.”
In their statement, the chiefs said they understood “people want to make their voices heard” but appealed to them “to work with officers at this challenging time”.
“The right to lawful protest is a key part of any democracy, which UK police uphold and facilitate,” they said.
“But coronavirus remains a deadly disease and there are still restrictions in place to prevent its spread, which include not gathering outside in groups of more than six people,” the chiefs added.
Protests also took place in other British cities, including Liverpool and Manchester, and more were expected Wednesday.
In Istanbul, dozens people clashed with police minutes after beginning a protest over Floyd and what they called police brutality in Turkey.
At least five people were arrested after scuffles with cops in riot gear, after which other protesters gave speeches denouncing lethal police force and bans on demonstrations in the country during the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported.
In Nairobi, where protesters at the US Embassy held signs reading “Black Lives Matter” and “Stop Extrajudicial Killings,” organizer Nafula Wafula said violence against blacks is international and cited the killing of prisoners in Kenya.
“The system that allows police brutality to happen in Kenya is based on class. In America, it’s race and class,” Wafula said.
In the Iranian city of Mashhad, a candlelight vigil was held in Floyd’s honor, with Black Lives Matter posters and images of the slain man posted, according to NPR.
And in New Zealand, thousands took to the streets in Auckland to protest police brutality, chanting “No justice, no peace!” and “Black lives matter!”
Toward the end of the march, footage posted on social media showed protesters taking part in an impromptu haka, a ceremonial dance of the Maori people, the outlet reported.
Protests also were planned in Spain, Portugal and Gambia.
In Spain, demonstrators will mark the death of Floyd and “all sisters and brothers who have died at the hands of institutional racism on our streets,” the African and Afro-descendant Community CNAAE said, according to Reuters.
Portugal’s gathering, meanwhile, will address “the myth that Portugal is not a racist country.”
Expressions of fury also erupted in multiple languages in social media, with thousands of Swedes joining an online protest and others speaking out under the banner of #BlackOutTuesday.
Diplomatic outrage also mounted, with the European Union’s top foreign policy official saying the bloc was “shocked and appalled” by Floyd’s death.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refrained from directly criticizing Trump, saying protests should force awareness of racism everywhere.
“We all watch in horror and consternation what’s going on in the United States,” Trudeau said after pausing 21 seconds before answering.
“But it is a time for us as Canadians to recognize that we, too, have our challenges, that black Canadians and racialized Canadians face discrimination as a lived reality every single day. There is systemic discrimination in Canada,” he added.
But not everyone in Europe sided with the protesters.
Spain’s far-right Vox party and the Netherlands’ anti-Islam Freedom Party called people protesting Floyd’s death “terrorists” and backed President Trump.
“Our support for Trump and the Americans who are seeing their Nation attacked by street terrorists backed by progressive millionaires,” Vox said in a Tweet.
In the Netherlands, the Freedom Party’s Geert Wilders tweeted: “White House under attack. This is no protest but anarchy by #AntifaTerrorists.”
But despite the racial discord, Linda Nooitmeer, who heads the National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy, drew hope from Monday’s protest in Amsterdam.
“We don’t have the history of the civil rights movement in Holland, so what occurred yesterday was really something new. It is the start of real dialogue,” she said.
With Post wires