Paris police have banned a demonstration called for this Saturday in memory of a man who died following a police arrest in 2016, fearing it could spark further unrest.
The call for the Paris march came after authorities banned a similar gathering, which was also called for today in Persan, a town on the northern outskirts of the French capital.
The initial ban by the Val-d’Oise council was followed by a legal appeal, but the court upheld the ban, announced Friday evening, fearing further disturbances following the 17-year-old’s death.
Following the court’s ruling, the municipality issued a statement calling on organizers to “respect the decision” and not gather at the planned location.
The initiatives aimed to demand justice for Adama Traoré, who died on July 19, 2016 following a police arrest in Persan.
Adama Traoré’s family regularly holds demonstrations to protest what they consider deaths from police brutality against minorities and to demand clarification of the truth.
Given the recent wave of riots that hit the main French cities between June 27 and July 2, the Paris police also banned the demonstration in the capital, calling at noon (11 a.m. in Lisbon) on Praça da República, symbolic place of demonstrations.
The left-wing party França Insubmissa today called for several demonstrations of “mourning and anger” over police brutality in several cities, such as Marseille and Strasbourg, but not in Paris.
Source: DN
