Escalation on National Day?
Brutal arrest heats up mood in France again
07/10/2023 11:43 am
Youssouf Traoré is arrested at a demonstration in France. His brother died in 2016 after being pursued by the police. The discussions that are now emerging are fueling fears of renewed escalation on the upcoming national holiday.
After a demonstration against police violence over the weekend in Paris, an investigation has been launched into whether officers used violence against reporters at the rally. This allegation is made by three journalists who are said to have been approached by officials while filming an arrest, the newspaper “Le Parisien” reported. There are some amateur videos of the scenes. Both the banned demonstration and the arrest, which the journalists filmed, are causing debates in France just before the national holiday.
The sister of the young black man Adama Traoré, who died in 2016 after being chased by the police, called for the demonstration, which was later banned by the Paris police prefecture. Critics cite his fate as an example of police violence, and his sister Assa Traoré is known as an anti-racism activist. Around 2,000 demonstrators, including members of the Left Alliance in Parliament, took part in the rally. They were later criticized for this by politicians from other parties.
“That’s a shame”
Affected by the arrests was Youssouf Traoré, a brother of the man who died in 2016, who is said to have hit a policewoman. He was knocked down and injured during the arrest and had to spend the night in hospital. “Adama’s brother arrested. It’s a shame,” tweeted Green MEP Sandrine Rousseau. “Getting out of an arrest like that when there was no justification for the violence.”
(Photo: picture alliance/dpa/AFP)
The person concerned was seen with a swollen eye a day later after his release. He thanked his supporters. “Yssoufou Traore was the victim of violence by Brav-M police officers that appeared disproportionate and unlawful,” it said to a video statement on a Twitter page for Adama. The Brav-M are a notorious special police unit often deployed at demonstrations and repeatedly accused of being overly harsh.
Almost two weeks after a police officer fatally shot a youth during a traffic check near Paris, there were demonstrations against police violence in several major French cities over the weekend. The riots following the death of the 17-year-old have since died down. The concern, however, is that they will flare up again on the national holiday on July 14th.