In the French city of Maurepas, a poor, run-down neighborhood in northern France’s Rennes, Babacar Gueye, a 27-year-old Senegalese man, suffered an nervousness assault and minimize himself with a desk knife late at night time on Dec. 2, 2015.
A good friend of his known as an ambulance, however cops from the Anti-Crime Squad turned up as an alternative.
When they entered the constructing, one of many officers fired 5 photographs at Babacar, who died inside an hour whereas handcuffed.
Just hours later, he was deemed accountable for his personal dying by all the cops who have been on the scene.
Despite his dying, they pressed fees in opposition to Babacar for the tried homicide of an individual in public workplace, describing him as a very aggressive man, in response to native media.
Babacar’s dying triggered big protests demanding justice and denouncing police abuse within the nation.
An investigation was opened by the prosecution for the “attempted murder of persons holding public authority” and after a number of years of trial, the High Court of Rennes closed the case, concluding that the police officer acted in self-defense.
The Gueye household, who’re nonetheless combating for justice, have described their struggle to the native press as a “fight against violence and racism of the state, its forces of order, its justice, its prisons and its detention centers.”
Long historical past of brutality, racism
Yasser Louati, a French political analyst and human rights advocate, who’s presently the top of the Committee for Justice & Liberties (CJL), advised Anadolu Agency (AA) that the French police have an extended historical past of violence towards the civilian inhabitants, with little to no scrutiny, “let alone sanctions.”
In his opinion, we should take a historic take a look at a Nazi connection who “initiated the decree that gave birth” to the modern-day French police.
We see that ever since, its observe document was not that of “protecting and serving and upholding the French values to protect the civilian population, but to discipline and punish,” he added.
According to him Muslim, Arab and Black minorities are getting brutally arrested and oftentimes killed by the police both within the streets or in police stations.
However, regardless of an extended historical past of brutality, racism and a number of research exhibiting how prevalent far-right ideology is inside the ranks of the police, the federal government doesn’t appear to be ready to behave to rethink the connection of the police with the overall inhabitants, mentioned Louati.
“As a matter of fact, we see things evolving toward the worst, less transparency, less accountability, and overwhelming power is given to the police with little to no scrutiny,” he mentioned.
Louati identified that each time a Muslim particular person crosses paths with the French police, their “lives are in danger.”
A Muslim particular person is extra more likely to be arrested and overwhelmed by the police and for that purpose, they’re extra prone to dying by the hands of the police, he mentioned.
According to the 2017 Ombudsman report, Blacks and Arabs are 20 instances extra more likely to be racially profiled by the police.
A research by the unbiased French media outlet Basta revealed that 746 individuals have been killed between 1977 and 2020 by the police in France, out of which 61 have been ladies and 82 have been kids beneath the age of 18.
Among 444 individuals killed by bullets, 253 have been unarmed, whereas one in 10 died because of the incapacity to breathe, in response to the research.
“It is not a good time to be Black, Arab or Muslim in France, especially with this kind of police” that was born beneath a fascist authorities, Louati mentioned.
‘French George Floyd’
Louati identified that French elites are simply able to name out racism and police brutality within the U.S. or elsewhere however that they haven’t any classes to offer “when we see what’s going on in France.”
For occasion, since George Floyd was killed by a police officer within the U.S. a few years in the past, “we have seen many pundits in the media, and from the right and the left, and people from the government call out racism and police brutality in the U.S.”
They nevertheless known as out demonstrations in opposition to racism and police brutality in France, mentioned Louati, including the French authorities refuse to take a look at the prevalence of racism on French soil and particularly how establishments just like the police grow to be racist and violent.
“We have not seen those members of the government support the families of victims of police brutality when they take the matter to court,” as it’s extra politically worthwhile to help the police than to query it, and “this is where the hypocrisy lies,” he added.
In 2016, a 24-year-old Malian man named Adama Traore, dubbed the “French George Floyd,” died in police custody in a suburb of northern Paris.
Similarities between Adama Traore’s destiny and that of George Floyd exhibit placing parallels between police violence and unrest in France and the U.S.
Both Black males died by the hands of police and struggled to breathe of their ultimate moments.
Their deaths have grow to be rallying factors all over the world for protests in opposition to police brutality.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
