Paris police have banned a rally called for today in the French capital in memory of a man who died after his police arrest in 2016, fearing it could spark further unrest.
The call for the march in Paris took place after the authorities had prohibited a similar concentration, also for today, in the town of Persan, on the northern outskirts of the capital.
The initial prohibition by the prefecture of the Val-d’Oise department was followed by a judicial appeal, but the court upheld the veto, disclosed on Friday night, for fear that the riots generated after the death of a 17 year old.
After this judicial decision, the prefecture asked in a statement that the organizers “respect the decision of justice” and not concentrate in the planned place.
The events sought to ask for justice for Adama Traoré, who died on July 19, 2016 during a police arrest in Persan.
The family holds regular marches to protest what they see as a death resulting from police violence against minorities and to demand that the truth be clarified.
However, and in view of the recent wave of riots that have affected the main cities of the country and its periphery from June 27 to July 2, the Paris police prefecture also prohibited the concentration in the capital, which had been called for noon (10:00 GMT) in the Plaza de la República, a symbolic point for the demonstrations.
On the other hand, the leftist party La Francia Insumisa has called for today several marches of “mourning and anger” for police violence in various cities of the country, such as Marseille or Strasbourg, but not in Paris.
