The nationwide demonstrations were held around three months after a 17-year-old boy was shot dead by police at a traffic control in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. The incident revived a long-standing debate about police violence and discrimination against people in France’s low-income areas.
According to the organizers, around 80,000 people took part in the demonstrations around France on Saturday, including 15,000 in Paris. However, the Ministry of the Interior states that the total figure in the country was 31,300 and 9,000 in Paris.
Hundreds of the protesters in Paris broke away from the main demonstration. Among other things, they smashed windows and threw objects at a police car. The government has condemned the action as “unacceptable violence”.