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Parisian authorities on Saturday banned a memorial rally dedicated to Adama Traoré, a young black man who died in police custody in 2016, that was set to be held in the capital’s Place de la République in the afternoon.
Assa Traoré, Adama’s sister and a leading figure in the fight against police violence, on Friday announced the Saturday march after a previous planned gathering on the outskirts of Paris was forbidden by authorities amid the recent waves of violent riots across the country. The nationwide turmoil was sparked by the killing of a 17-year-old of North African descent, Nahel M., by a police officer, which rekindled long-simmering tensions between youths and law enforcement.
“The announcement of a gathering on the day before for the following day does not enable the police authority to mobilize the necessary manpower and resources to secure the gathering,” reads the police order.
Other rallies are nevertheless taking place in other cities to condemn police violence and call on the government to take action.
On Friday, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) urged France to “address, as a matter of priority, the structural and systemic causes of racial discrimination, including in law enforcement, in particular in the police.”
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday objected to these “excessive comments” from the CERD — which, Paris said, overlooked the “unjustifiable violence committed in recent days against the forces of law and order, elected representatives, public services, police stations, schools, social and health centers, and town halls.”
“Any accusation of racism or systemic discrimination by law enforcement agencies in France is unfounded,” the ministry said.
The European Commission has also expressed concerns over police violence in France. In an interview on Belgian radio on Wednesday, EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said there was a need to “reflect on [French] policing” given the “striking level of violence” the country has witnessed over the past few years, including the week of riots after the death of Nahel.
“We need to examine the very high level of violence, because it sometimes poses a challenge in the behavior of a certain number of police officers — as we’ve seen from the dramatic situations that have occurred,” Reynders said.
The French government was quick to respond: “I’m going to be very clear,” France’s State Secretary for Europe Laurence Boone said in a video clip of a hearing at the French Senate. “It’s not up to Didier Reynders or the European Commission to take an interest in the way France manages its police force.”
