Dozens of police officers have gathered on Place de l'Étoile in Paris to show their disapproval of Cristophe Castaner's recent remarks.
Action de policiers à Paris pour protester contre les propos de #Castaner #Police #PoliciersenColere pic.twitter.com/kopoVXtR8f
— Xenia__Sputnik (@XseniaSputnik) June 13, 2020
Rassemblés devant l'Arc de Triomphe, les #PoliciersenColère jettent leurs menottes au sol en réaction aux annonces de Christophe Castanerhttps://t.co/kZoj2JAsjC pic.twitter.com/2pjByALAib
— Sputnik France (@sputnik_fr) June 13, 2020
Officers were seen throwing their handcuffs on the ground in a symbolic gesture and singing France's national anthem La Marseillaise in front of the Arc de Triomphe.
Après ce geste symbolique, les policiers entonnent la Marseillaisehttps://t.co/kZoj2JAsjC pic.twitter.com/ruCDA3ODoD
— Sputnik France (@sputnik_fr) June 13, 2020
Castaner's speech delivered on Monday drew the ire of police, who accused the authorities of attaching the label of racist to them. On Friday morning, officers staged a protest on Paris' Champs Elysees to reject the accusations of racism as well as what they describe as the hate campaign against them sparked by the George Floyd rallies.
Police demonstrations in France were initiated by Yves Lefebvre, the general secretary of the Unite SGP-Police union, who said that what the police have been through since Monday is "unacceptable" and called on French officers to "symbolically put down their handcuffs".
