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4 years ago, #AdamaTraore (24 yo) died in France in the same way as #GeorgeFlyod. He died after 3 policemen sat on him after he was arrested for fleeing an identity check. His last words were "I can't breathe".
A thread on police violence in France 1/10
A thread on police violence in France 1/10
2 weeks ago, a medical expertise cleared the policemen involved by blaming pre-existing medical conditions. The family denies he had any. This has sparked protests in France. 2/10 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/04/world/adama-traore-david-dungay-george-floyd-protests-gbr-intl/index.html
Police violence is endemic in France and often targets Arabic or Black people. This year 2 other people died after being restrained by the police: 3/10
On April 8, Mohamed Gabsi was arrested 5 minutes after the curfew began in Béziers. He died after a policeman sat on him in the car driving him to the police station. None of the policemen involved were charged and they are still on duty. 4/10 https://www.liberation.fr/france/2020/06/06/mort-de-mohamed-gabsi-l-autopsie-evoque-un-syndrome-asphyxique_1790518
On January 5, Cedric Chouviat died after being restrained and strangled by policemen in Paris. Again, no policeman was charged or suspended. 5/10 https://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/a-paris-cedric-a-connu-la-meme-souffrance-que-george-floyd-accuse-sa-veuve-02-06-2020-8328558.php
2 weeks ago, a 14 year-old was kicked in the face by 3 policemen after being arrested for stealing a motorbike. This happened in Bondy, one of the poorest and most diverse town in France (Paris suburb). 6/10 https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2020/06/04/interpellation-brutale-de-gabriel-d-14-ans-deux-versions-s-opposent_6041735_3224.html
It's hard to be optimistic. There is no reform and police hierarchy always sides with police officers. In 2002, the Ministry of Interior sued a hip-hop group ( @LaRumeur) after they said that police killings were not investigated. 7/10 https://www.telerama.fr/musique/la-rumeur-huit-ans-de-proces-contre-nicolas-sarkozy,57767.php
The Ministry filed 4 appeals but @LaRumeur was eventually cleared! It's a record for a case like this and that must have costed tens of thousands of € in legal fees. 8/10
Collection of ethnic statistics is forbidden in Fr and it's impossible to know if Black or Arabic pple are more likely to be killed by the police but looking at notable cases over the last 20 years, the vast majority of victims seems to be non-white. 9/10 https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_policière_en_France#Morts
Policemen in France are much more likely to vote for the Front National (54% vs 21% at the last presidential election). A party that blames immigrants for about everything wrong in the country. It's hard to imagine that it doesn't affect the way they treat minorities. 10/10
Today the Ministry of Interior said that strangulation techniques or pressure on the neck when someone is laying down have been banned during arrests. But he denies any racism in French police. https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2020/06/08/violences-policieres-christophe-castaner-annonce-la-fin-de-la-methode-d-interpellation-dite-de-l-etranglement_6042165_823448.html
