NANTES, France: Violent protests broke out yesterday in two French cities against alleged police brutality, leaving at least six injured.
Officers fired rubber bullets as demonstrators hurled bottles of acid in the western city of Nantes.
Protesters also clashed with police in the southwestern city of Toulouse.
The demonstrators were protesting over the death of Remi Fraisse, 21, who was killed last Sunday during clashes between security forces and protesters at the site of a contested dam in southwestern France.
Initial investigations showed traces of TNT on his clothes and skin, suggesting he may have been killed by a police stun grenade.
“This is a young man who was killed by the police, by the State, and we can not let this go,” said one demonstrator, Annaik, 23, as other protesters chanted slogans such as “murderers!”.
Many who took part in yesterday’s protests, which also took place in other cities including Lille, Bordeaux and Avignon, were said to be opponents of the controversial dam project.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls condemned the violence, saying it was an “insult to the memory” of Fraisse.
Fraisse’s death was the first during a protest in mainland France since 1986.
Overnight Thursday, some 200 protesters rampaged through the western city of Rennes, with some turning over cars and breaking shop windows.
Authorities on Friday decided to suspend work on the dam.
AFP
