by
ANGELA CHARLTON AND THOMAS ADAMSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Protesters show brushes next to a poster reading and playing with words in French "Bluring faces" during a demonstration against a security law that would restrict sharing images of police, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 in Paris. Critics of a proposed French security law in France that would restrict sharing images of police are gathering across the country in protest. Civil liberties groups and journalists are concerned that the measure will stymie press freedoms and allow police brutality to go undiscovered and unpunished. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
PARIS -- Tens of thousands of critics of a proposed security law that would restrict the filming of police officers protested across France on Saturday, and officers in Paris who were advised to behave responsibly during the demonstrations repeatedly fired tear gas to disperse rowdy protesters who set fire to France's central bank and threw paving stones.
The mood was largely peaceful, however, as dozens of rallies took place against a provision of the law that would make it a crime to publish photos or video of on-duty police officers with the intent of harming their "physical or psychological integrity."
Civil liberties groups, journalists and people who have faced police abuse are concerned that the measure will stymie press freedoms and allow police brutality to go undiscovered and unpunished.
"We have to broaden the debate, and by doing that, we say that if there were no police violence, we wouldn't have to film violent policemen," said Assa Traore, a prominent activist whose brother died in police custody in 2016.
She was among at least 46,000 people who packed the sprawling Republique plaza and surrounding streets carrying red union flags, French tricolor flags and homemade signs denouncing police violence, demanding media freedom or calling for the resignation of French President Emmanuel Macron or his tough-talking interior minister, Gerald Darmanin.
The crowd included journalists, journalism students, left-wing activists, migrants rights groups and citizens of varied political stripes expressing anger over what they perceive as hardening police tactics in recent years, especially since France's yellow vest protest movement against economic hardship emerged in 2018.
Violence broke out near the end of the march as small groups of protesters pelted riot police with small rocks and paving stones. The officers retaliated with volleys of tear gas, prompting minor scuffles. Rioters then set fire to the facade of the central bank and to police barricades; in the melee, firetrucks struggled to reach the site.
Macron's government says the law is needed to protect police amid threats and attacks by a violent fringe.
But the chief editor of French newspaper Le Monde, Luc Bronner, argued at the protest that the law against publishing images of officers is unnecessary.
"There are already laws that exist to protect civil servants, including police forces when they're targeted, and it's legitimate -- the police do a very important job," Bronner said. "But that's not what this is about. It's about limiting the capacity of citizens, and along with them journalists, to document police violence when they happen."
While journalists have been the most outspoken over the security bill, it could have an even greater impact on the efforts of non-journalists who film police during aggressive arrests."There were all those protests in the summer against police violence, and this law shows the government didn't hear us ... It's the impunity. That's what makes us so angry," said protester Kenza Berkane, 26.
Berkane, who is French and of North African origin, described being repeatedly stopped by police for identity checks in the metro or while going to school, while white friends were allowed to pass. "We ask ourselves, when will this stop?"
The cause has gained renewed importance in recent days after footage emerged of French police officers beating up a Black man, triggering a nationwide outcry.
Macron spoke out against the video images Friday, saying "they shame us."
Video that surfaced Thursday showed the beating of music producer Michel Zecler, after footage of the police evacuation Tuesday of migrants in a Paris plaza. The officers involved in the beating of Zecler were suspended pending an internal police investigation.
An internal letter from Paris Police Prefect Didier Lallement called on officers to use "probity, the sense of honor and ethics" when policing Saturday's protests, which were authorized by authorities despite France's partial virus lockdown.
Information for this article was contributed by Alex Turnbull of The Associated Press.
A protester shouts during a demonstration security law that would restrict sharing images of police, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 in Paris. Critics of a proposed French security law in France that would restrict sharing images of police are gathering across the country in protest. Civil liberties groups and journalists are concerned that the measure will stymie press freedoms and allow police brutality to go undiscovered and unpunished. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Demonstrator holds a poster reading " All monitored except the police, stop global security" during a demonstration Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 in Lille, northern France. Critics of a proposed French security law in France that would restrict sharing images of police are gathering across the country in protest. Civil liberties groups and journalists are concerned that the measure will stymie press freedoms and allow police brutality to go undiscovered and unpunished. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)
A demonstrator talks with French police officers and shows a poster reading "Inspectorate General of the National Police, 378 cases 2 convictions, it's starting to show", during a demonstration Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 in Lille, northern France. Critics of a proposed French security law in France that would restrict sharing images of police are gathering across the country in protest. Civil liberties groups and journalists are concerned that the measure will stymie press freedoms and allow police brutality to go undiscovered and unpunished. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)
A protester holds a flare during a demonstration security law that would restrict sharing images of police, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 in Paris. Critics of a proposed French security law in France that would restrict sharing images of police are gathering across the country in protest. Civil liberties groups and journalists are concerned that the measure will stymie press freedoms and allow police brutality to go undiscovered and unpunished. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Protesters march during a demonstration against a security law that would restrict sharing images of police, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 in Paris. Civil liberties groups and journalists are concerned that the measure will stymie press freedoms and allow police brutality to go undiscovered and unpunished. The cause has gained fresh impetus in recent days after footage emerged of French police officers beating up a Black man, triggering a nationwide outcry. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
A protester holds a poster during a demonstration against a security law that would restrict sharing images of police, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 in Paris. Critics of a proposed French security law in France that would restrict sharing images of police are gathering across the country in protest. Civil liberties groups and journalists are concerned that the measure will stymie press freedoms and allow police brutality to go undiscovered and unpunished. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Assa Traore, center, sister of Adama Traore attends a demonstration against a security law that would restrict sharing images of police, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 in Paris. Adama Traore was Black man killed in police custody, whose case has mobilized broad anger against police brutality and racial injustice. Civil liberties groups and journalists are concerned that the measure will stymie press freedoms and allow police brutality to go undiscovered and unpunished. The cause has gained fresh impetus in recent days after footage emerged of French police officers beating up a Black man, triggering a nationwide outcry. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Protester hold a banner reading "For our freedom" and showing a defaced portrait of Paris police prefect Didier Lallement during a demonstration against a security law that would restrict sharing images of police, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 in Paris. Thousands of critics of a proposed French security law that would restrict sharing images of police have gathered across the country Saturday in protest. Civil liberties groups and journalists are concerned that the measure will stymie press freedoms and allow police brutality to go undiscovered and unpunished. The cause has gained fresh impetus in recent days after footage emerged of French police officers beating up a Black man, triggering a nationwide outcry. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Demonstrator holds a poster reading "I write your name, Freedom", during a demonstration Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 in Lille, northern France. Critics of a proposed French security law in France that would restrict sharing images of police are gathering across the country in protest. Civil liberties groups and journalists are concerned that the measure will stymie press freedoms and allow police brutality to go undiscovered and unpunished. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)
