France: violent clashes between the police and the …

Thousands of people took to the streets in France to express their rejection of a security invoice, in the midst of a new case of police violence that complicates the government of Emmanuel Macron.

Protesters mobilized in more than seventy cities across the country, such as Lille, in the north of the country, and Montpellier, in the south-east. In Paris, some 46,000 people gathered at Place de la République and they walked a little over two kilometers to the Place de la Bastille.

“Police everywhere, justice nowhere”, “police state” and “smile while beating you,” were some of the chants which were heard during the demonstrations, where clashes between the police and the demonstrators were recorded. The most serious incident occurred in Paris when groups of hooded men set a branch of the Banque de France on fire and set a kiosk on fire.

The new security law

The draft to be approved punishes the dissemination of images in which members of the security forces appeareven those that are recorded by citizens with their cell phones or drones.

At the center of the controversy is Article 24 which punishes one year in prison and up to 45,000 euros fine for “malicious” publication images of the police.

The debate on this new legislation takes on a greater dimension in the midst of social tension due to the police attack on a black man. Videos released by the Loopsider site which showed the beatings that three police officers struck on Saturday the music producer Michel Zecler at the entrance of a music studio in Paris.

The government assures that this provision is intended to protect the police against hate speech and threats on social networks, with the disclosure of details of their privacy. Opponents point out that many cases of police violence will go unpunished without camera recordings or citizens’ phones.

They also argue that this is an unnecessary provision, since the current legal arsenal is sufficient to crack down on these crimes and that French law “punishes acts, not intentions”.

Police violence and racism

In the midst of the debate on the sanction of the law, two cases of police violence revived the debate and triggered a real crisis within the Macron government.

Monday during an activity of promising organizations, the police brutally evacuated those who had settled in a square in central Paris, and attacked journalists under the spotlight of cameras and smartphones.

Security cameras showed on Thursday the beating that three policemen gave to a music producer.

“Images which make us ashamed”, denounced Macron and instructed the government to present him “quickly with proposals” to “fight more effectively against any discrimination”.