Paris Police Officers Stage Protest to Reject Racism Accusations, 'Hatred' Campaign
French police officers staged a protest on Paris' Champs Elysees on Friday morning to reject racism accusations and what they say is a hatred campaign against them sparked by George Floyd rallies
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th June, 2020) French police officers staged a protest on Paris' Champs Elysees on Friday morning to reject racism accusations and what they say is a hatred campaign against them sparked by George Floyd rallies.
First, police cars with banners depicting injuries sustained by officers attacked while on duty have parked near the Arc de Triomphe. Then, officers marched down the Champs Elysees boulevard.
At the beginning of the procession, several dozen officers carried the banner that read "No police, no peace." The officers also lit crackers and made of them a composition in the colors of the French flag. The column reached the square in front of the Interior Ministry, which is located close to the Elysee Palace.
"June 12: a rally in support for all French police officers. The authorities do not support their police officers, and [trade union] Alliance [Police nationale] protects them against a presumption of guilt.
No, police officers are not racists. Let us stop hatred toward police! There is no peace without police!" a police trade union said in a press release.
French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Monday that police officers systematically get suspended over racism. The minister also said about "uncompromising struggle" with this phenomenon and banned chokehold� techniques during arrests, the use of which resulted in the death of African American man George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody that triggered protests against racism and police brutally in the US and across the world, including France.
The minister's statement drew the ire from police, who accused the authorities of attaching the label of racists to them.