Paris riot police fired tear gas to disperse a largely peaceful but unauthorized protest against police brutality and racism on Saturday.
At least 15,000 people rallied in the French capital, led by supporters of Adama Traoré, a French black man who died in police custody in 2016 in circumstances that remain unclear despite four years of back-and-forth autopsies. No one has been charged in the case.
Angry shouts rose from the racially diverse crowd as a small group of other protesters climbed a building overlooking the demonstration and unfurled a huge banner denouncing “anti-white racism.”
Building residents then reached out of their windows and tore part of the banner down, one raising his fist in victory.
Officers prevented people attending the main rally from approaching the counter-demonstrators, who were later detained.
Riot police then fired tear gas and charged a few unruly members of the main protest, urging them to disperse. The crowd had initially planned to march through the city, whose shops were closed between Place de la Republique and the city’s main opera house, but police decided to block them from marching.
Gatherings of more than 10 people are currently banned in France due to containment measures. Filmed by Fiona Charpentier.