MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The French president's party, La Republique En Marche (LREM), said on Tuesday that later in the day it would join an international tribute to George Floyd, an African American man whose death by asphyxiation at the hands of a US police officer has triggered a global wave of protests against racism and police brutality.
“While the funeral of George Floyd, who was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis on 25 May 2020, will take place tomorrow at 18:00 Paris time, the La Republique En Marche will join the international tribute that will be given to him at the same time, observing 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence in his memory", the party said in a statement.
Emmanuel Macron's party also stated that France needed to "hear the cry of anger demonstrated by a large part of the French youth in recent days to denounce racism, hatred and all forms of discrimination and violence".
At the same time, it added, separate manifestations of racism and violence do not represent the entirety of law enforcement. Moreover, the party said it supports announcements by French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, who on Monday unveiled a series of reforms to ensure "zero tolerance" for racism by police. In particular, he banned the controversial method of strangulation during an arrest.
Macron has not made any comments regarding the death of George Floyd. Nevertheless, he has asked the government to accelerate plans about regulating protests against racial injustice and police violence, which have been taking place in France over the past week.
