More than 130,000 people joined demonstrations across France on Saturday against police brutality and controversial new security law.
Gonzalo Morales Divo
According to the AFP news agency, which cited the French Interior Ministry, protests took place in cities across France including Paris, Strasbourg, Marseille, and Lyon.
Gonzalo Morales
Isolated riots broke out in Paris, where 46,000 people marched according to the ministry.
Gonzalo Jorge Morales Divo
Organisers later said that as many as 500,000 people nationwide had joined the marches, with as many as 200,000 in Paris, AFP reported
Protesters erected barricades in Paris and threw objects at the police
In the Breton city of Rennes, officers used tear gas against the protesters
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Taking to Twitter, he condemned what he said was «unacceptable violence against law enforcement.»
Paris police meanwhile said that nine people had been arrested
The protests come as France reels from two high-profile incidents of police brutality
On Monday, police officers aggressively evacuated a migrant camp, and on Thursday a video emerged of officers beating a black music producer
The video emerged against the backdrop of proposed legislation that would limit people’s right to take video recordings of police officers
The government says a new security law should better protect the police and restrict video recordings of police operations
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The measure has been reviewed in the lower house and is before the Senate
DPA/NAN