Thousands gather for Black Lives Matter rallies in Australia and France as global anti-racism momentum grows

Thousands gathered for Black Lives Matter rallies in Australia and France as the anti-racism momentum continues to grow in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Demonstrators in both countries defied authorities as the global emotion against racial injustice and historical wrongs was sparked by Mr Floyd's death in Minneapolis on May 25.

At least 15,000 people rallied in Paris on Saturday, where riot police fired tear gas to disperse the largely peaceful but unauthorised protest.

In Australia, protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement also went ahead against the advice of government and health authorities.

French demonstrators were led by supporters of Adama Traore, a French black man who died in police custody in 2016 in circumstances that remain unclear despite four years of back-and-forth autopsies. No one has been charged in the case.

Protesters hold flares as they stand next to a banner reading 'Confronted to police brutality - Self defence'
AFP via Getty Images

Myriam Boicoulin, 31, who was born in the French Caribbean island of Martinique, said she marched in Paris on Saturday because she "wants to be heard."

"The fact of being visible is enormous," Ms Boicoulin said.

Black Lives Matter protests across the world - In pictures

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As a black woman living in mainland France, she said, "I'm constantly obliged to adapt, to make compromises, not make waves — to be almost white, in fact." "It's the first time people see us," she said. "Let us breathe."

Officers prevented people attending the main rally from approaching the counter-demonstrators, but didn't detain the far-right activists until two hours later, further angering the crowd below.

Protests in Perth
Getty Images

Riot police then fired tear gas and charged unruly members of the main protest, urging them to disperse. The crowd initially planned to march through the city, but police decided to block them from moving, citing coronavirus concerns.

Similar protests were also held Saturday in cities around France, from Rouen in Normandy in the northwest to Marseille on the Mediterranean.

Some demonstrators were encouraged that the French government responded to the past couple of weeks of Floyd-inspired protests by banning police chokeholds and launching investigations of racist comments in private Facebook and Whatsapp groups for police.

Protesters in Paris
REUTERS

"We are are all demanding the same thing - fair justice for everyone," Traore's sister Assa told the rally.

Angry shouts rose from the racially diverse crowd as a small group of white extreme-right activists climbed a building overlooking the protest and unfurled a huge banner denouncing "anti-white racism."

Building residents then reached out of their windows and tore part of the banner down, one raising his fist in victory. Officers prevented people attending the main rally from approaching the counter-demonstrators, but didn't detain the far-right activists until two hours later, further angering the crowd below.

Paris streets flooded with protesters
AFP via Getty Images

Riot police then fired tear gas and charged unruly members of the main protest, urging them to disperse. The crowd initially planned to march through the city, but police decided to block them from moving, citing coronavirus concerns.

Similar protests were also held Saturday in cities around France, from Rouen in Normandy in the northwest to Marseille on the Mediterranean.

Some demonstrators were encouraged that the French government responded to the past couple of weeks of Floyd-inspired protests by banning police chokeholds and launching investigations of racist comments in private Facebook and Whatsapp groups for police.

Australia's biggest demonstration was in Perth, the Western Australia state capital, where the Australian Broadcasting Corp estimated 5,000 people gathered to honour Mr Floyd and remember indigenous Australian people.

Protests in Perth
AFP via Getty Images

​The threat of rain and and lack of a city council permit meant the Perth rally did not reach the expected 8,000-15,000 people organisers had hoped would attend.

It came after man who attended the rally in Melbourne last weekend later tested positive for the coronavirus, heightening concerns about a potential second wave in Australia just as the federal and state governments ease restrictions.

Western Australia Covid-19 regulations prohibit crowds of more than 300, although police were not enforcing social distancing fines and organisers offered face masks and hand sanitiser to protesters on Saturday.

The nationwide day of protests started in the far north, with more than 1,000 people gathering at City Park in Darwin, which has the highest proportion of Aboriginal people of Australia's state capitals.

Refugee activists held small rallies in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to protest against the detention of asylum seekers, despite warnings from police saying anyone attending the Sydney protest risked being fined and arrested.

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