French police violence: Five controversial cases

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A video of officers beating up and racially insulting a black music producer in Paris is the latest in a string of incidents that have put French policing in the spotlight.

It comes days after journalists were manhandled by police breaking up a migrant camp in the capital just as a new law making it illegal to publish images of police with "malicious intent" was passed.

Here is a round-up of recent controversies:

- Grenade kills activist -

People hold a banner that says, "For Remi Fraisse 26.10.14 Never forgive, Never forget" on October 26, 2016 in Toulouse, southwestern France, during a rally to pay a tribute to the environmental activist who died during clashes with security forces

ERIC CABANIS, AFP/File

Environmental activist Remi Fraisse, 21, is killed during a demonstration against a dam in southwestern France in October 2014. French paramilitary police known as gendarmes launch a crowd-clearing stun grenade that lands on his backpack, killing him.

Stun grenades are banned in 2017 but charges against the officer involved are dropped the following year.

- The French 'George Floyd' -

Assa Traore (C), the sister of late Adama Traore, a man who died in police custody, stands with her mother Oumou Traore (L) and sister Hawa ahead of a protest march to call for justice, on July 18, 2020 in Beaumont-sur-Oise, outside Paris

Bertrand GUAY, AFP/File

Often dubbed the "French George Floyd", 24-year-old Adama Traore dies in police custody on July 19, 2016 after officers pinned him to the floor.

Refusals by police to give the family information leads to several nights of violent protests in the Paris region.

Although an initial autopsy found the young black man died from asphyxiation, experts overrule that in May 2020, exonerating the three police officers involved.

Street protests demanding "justice for Adama" gather pace.

Belgian experts called in to re-examine the case will report in January.

- Disabled for life -

A 22-year-old black man, Theodore Luhaka, was left disabled for life after being allegedly sodomised with a police baton during a stop-and-search operation in a Paris suburb in 2017.

Magistrates have yet to decide whether to try the three officers involved, who were also accused of beating Luhaka.

- Lost eyes -

Yellow vest movement leader Jerome Rodrigues arrives to give a press conference at the Cochin hospital in Paris on January 27, 2019, one day after getting wounded in the eye during an anti-government demonstration

CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT, AFP/File

Several protesters from the anti-government yellow vest movement lose their eyes in clashes with police during the wave of often violent demonstrations that shook the country in 2018 and 2019. Another loses a hand picking up a police flash-ball grenade.

- Police accused of killing -

Three police officers are charged with manslaughter after a 42-year-old motorbike delivery rider Fredric Chouviat dies after being pinned to the ground during a routine check. A video of his arrest in January shows him pleading with officers, saying "I'm suffocating."

A video of officers beating up and racially insulting a black music producer in Paris is the latest in a string of incidents that have put French policing in the spotlight.

It comes days after journalists were manhandled by police breaking up a migrant camp in the capital just as a new law making it illegal to publish images of police with “malicious intent” was passed.

Here is a round-up of recent controversies:

– Grenade kills activist –

People hold a banner that says, “For Remi Fraisse 26.10.14 Never forgive, Never forget” on October 26, 2016 in Toulouse, southwestern France, during a rally to pay a tribute to the environmental activist who died during clashes with security forces

ERIC CABANIS, AFP/File

Environmental activist Remi Fraisse, 21, is killed during a demonstration against a dam in southwestern France in October 2014. French paramilitary police known as gendarmes launch a crowd-clearing stun grenade that lands on his backpack, killing him.

Stun grenades are banned in 2017 but charges against the officer involved are dropped the following year.

– The French ‘George Floyd’ –

Assa Traore (C), the sister of late Adama Traore, a man who died in police custody, stands with her mother Oumou Traore (L) and sister Hawa ahead of a protest march to call for justice, on July 18, 2020 in Beaumont-sur-Oise, outside Paris

Bertrand GUAY, AFP/File

Often dubbed the “French George Floyd”, 24-year-old Adama Traore dies in police custody on July 19, 2016 after officers pinned him to the floor.

Refusals by police to give the family information leads to several nights of violent protests in the Paris region.

Although an initial autopsy found the young black man died from asphyxiation, experts overrule that in May 2020, exonerating the three police officers involved.

Street protests demanding “justice for Adama” gather pace.

Belgian experts called in to re-examine the case will report in January.

– Disabled for life –

A 22-year-old black man, Theodore Luhaka, was left disabled for life after being allegedly sodomised with a police baton during a stop-and-search operation in a Paris suburb in 2017.

Magistrates have yet to decide whether to try the three officers involved, who were also accused of beating Luhaka.

– Lost eyes –

Yellow vest movement leader Jerome Rodrigues arrives to give a press conference at the Cochin hospital in Paris on January 27, 2019, one day after getting wounded in the eye during an anti-government demonstration

CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT, AFP/File

Several protesters from the anti-government yellow vest movement lose their eyes in clashes with police during the wave of often violent demonstrations that shook the country in 2018 and 2019. Another loses a hand picking up a police flash-ball grenade.

– Police accused of killing –

Three police officers are charged with manslaughter after a 42-year-old motorbike delivery rider Fredric Chouviat dies after being pinned to the ground during a routine check. A video of his arrest in January shows him pleading with officers, saying “I’m suffocating.”