PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th June, 2020) The French police used tear gas to handle an unrest in the center of Paris that erupted amid massive protest against racism and police brutality, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the site.
The rally started at about 2:30 p. m. local time (12:30 GMT) on the Place de la Republique and protesters were expected to march toward the Palais Garnier but policemen cordoned off the area. According to French BFMTV broadcaster, some 15,000 people took part in the rally.
In about an hour and a half, people wearing black clothes � mostly young men � formed a group and began throwing glass bottles, can with paint and other debris at the police blocking the street. Protesters set fire to a pile of garbage on the roadway, and a section of the square is now engulfed in smoke.
After the police used tear gas, the crowd briefly moved away from the cordoned off area, but as soon as gas dispersed, rioters returned. Some of them are trying to break windows of a nearby mobile operator store.
The BFMTV reported that 12 people were detained after members of the French far-right political movement Generation Identitaire attempted to disrupt the protest by hanging a huge banner with� "White Lives Matter" slogan.
A wave of protests against racial inequality has swept through the United States and many other countries in the wake of African American man George Floyd's death in police custody the US city of Minneapolis on May 25. French cities such as Marseille and Lyon, which also have large populations of African descent, are expecting similar marches over the weekend.
