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HOLD for PM -- Protests Support Floyd, Black Lives Matter On 3 Continents

Associated Press

   Tens of thousands of people gathered Saturday in cities far from the
   United States to express their anger over the death of George Floyd, a
   sign that the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality is
   resonating with wider calls over addressing racism in Asia, Australia
   and Europe.

   In Berlin, where police said 15,000 people rallied peacefully on the
   German capital's Alexander Square, protesters chanted Floyd's name and
   held up placards with slogans such as "Stop police brutality" and "I
   can't breathe."

   Floyd, a black man, died after a Minneapolis police officer pressed a
   knee on his neck even after Floyd pleaded for air while handcuffed and
   stopped moving. International protests started last weekend and were
   scheduled for this weekend from Sydney to Seoul and London to Naples.

   Several thousand demonstrators in Paris defied a protest ban -- issued
   because of the coronavirus pandemic -- and assembled within sight of
   the U.S. Embassy, kept back by imposing barriers and riot police.

   Among the crowd in the French capital was Marie Djedje, 14, a Parisian
   born on July 14, the French national day.

   "I was born French, on the day when we celebrate our country. But on a
   daily basis, I don't feel that this country accepts me," she said,
   holding up a sign that read "Being black is not a crime."

   The teenager said that emerging from France's virus lockdown and seeing
   officers on patrol again drove home how scared she is of the police and
   how she has steeled herself for a life of overcoming obstacles.

   "I know that because of my skin color I'm starting out with a handicap,
   for example, if I want to get a flat or go to a top school," she said.
   "I know I'm going to have to fight twice as hard as the others. But I'm
   prepared."

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