#JusticePourAdama: anti-racism protests/riots in France going on

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Thousands gathered in Paris for protests which were largely peaceful, but ended with scuffles with police, tear gas and street furniture set on fire

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The protest was sparked after a verdict on Friday in a four-year investigation into the death of Adama Traore, who died after being arrested in 2016

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A 24-year-old man born in the Paris suburb of Beaumont-sur-Oise who was arrested in 2016 after a dispute over a police identity check.

After a brief chase he was arrested and one of the three arresting officers has told investigators that they pinned Traore down with their combined bodyweight.

Traore lost consciousness in their vehicle and died at a nearby police station. He was still handcuffed when paramedics arrived

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Sadly, no. France's black and North African communities have frequently made accusations of bias and violence against French police and racially mixed areas - in particular Paris' northern suburbs - have seen regular clashes with police and accusations of police brutality.

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During the lockdown there were several nights of running battles between police and locals after a motorcyclist was seriously hurt during a police stop.

In May the French-Algerian actress Camelia Jordan caused a storm of protest when she said that people "get massacred" by Police in the Paris suburbs because of the colour of their skin.

Over the years there have seen a string of high-profile cases, including the death of two young men during a police chase in 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois which lead to three weeks of rioting.

More recently the Paris suburb of Les Ulis saw rioting over a case in which a youth worker named Théo was beaten and allegedly raped with a police baton.

During 2019 there was a national conversation about police violence after injuries during 'yellow vest' protests, but many campaigners said this problem had existed for years in areas that are poor, racially mixed and largely ignored by the media.

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