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French Police Stage Banned Demo to Demand Government Support

Associated Press

   PARIS - French police defied a ban on mass gatherings to protest what
   they see as a lack of government support, marching shoulder to shoulder
   on Friday on the Champs-Elysees to show their anger against new limits
   on arrest tactics and criticism of racism in their ranks.
   France this week announced a ban on chokeholds is part of government
   efforts to stem police brutality and racism in the wake of global
   protests over George Floyd's death in the U.S. But police have
   especially taken issue with any implication of systemic racism among
   French police.
   Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said earlier this week any
   "strong suspicion" of racism would be punished, in response to
   investigations into racist comments on closed Facebook and WhatsApp
   groups for police.
   Friday's protest was small but highly visible, with honking, flags and
   blue smoke blowing under rainy skies. As officers marched close
   together, with hardly a mask in sight, Paris police issued a bulletin
   confirming that anti-police protests planned this weekend were banned
   because of the coronavirus pandemic.
   Friday's group walked unimpeded to the interior ministry, which is next
   to the presidential palace and has been barricaded against
   demonstrators since the 2018 yellow-vest protests that frequently ended
   in violent clashes. Uniformed guards appeared startled at the arrival
   of the protest but did not intervene. After a minute of silence for
   dead police officers, they sang the French national anthem, spoke
   briefly and dispersed.
   "French police are the most controlled in the world, so when there are
   certain lapses by a tiny minority, don't stigmatize all police," said
   Fabien Vanhemelryck of the Alliance union. He accused politicians of
   responding hastily to a crisis in the United States "that has nothing
   to do with us."

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