From Sydney to London to Washington, D.C., protesters launched a weekend of action to support Black Lives Matter, in many cases defying bans on public gatherings. In Paris, at least two protests went ahead despite a ban.
Taking a knee, chanting and ignoring social-distancing measures, outraged protesters kicked off a weekend of global rallies Saturday against racism and police brutality.
The May 25 death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man arrested in the US state of Minnesota, has brought tens of thousands out onto the streets despite a pandemic that is ebbing in Asia and Europe but spreading rapidly in other parts of the world.
In Paris, riot police held back a crowd of several thousand who gathered outside the US embassy compound for an unsanctioned protest. Another group also gathered at the Champs de Mars park facing the Eiffel Tower.
“I find it scandalous that all these injustices go unpunished,” Dior, a 21-year-old Senegalese-Ivorian student, said amidst crowds holding up placards reading “Being black is not a crime” and “Our police are assassins”.
Protesters also defied restrictions on protest across the Channel.
“It is time to burn down institutional racism,” one speaker shouted through a megaphone at a crowd of thousands outside the parliament building in London.
“This is how we take care of each other,” she added, after urging everyone to pull on a face mask.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock spoke for many concerned officials as he tried to convince Britons not to gather for events involving more than six people this weekend, no matter the cause.
“Like so many people, I am appalled by the death of George Floyd. I understand why people are deeply upset,” Hancock said on Friday.
“But we are still facing a health crisis and coronavirus remains a real threat.”
Londoners nevertheless rallied outside parliament on Saturday and plan to hold another large demonstration in front of the US embassy on the opposite bank of the river Thames on Sunday.
Thousands defy bans
Aboriginal protesters performed a traditional smoking ceremony at the start of a “Black Lives Matter” protest in Sydney, which was sanctioned at the last minute after initially being banned on health grounds.
Tens of thousands of Australians defied government orders to stay home regardless, holding up signs and wearing face masks marked up “I can’t breathe” – the words Floyd kept repeating while handcuffed as a policeman knelt on his neck.
“The fact that they have tried to push us all back and stop the protest, it makes people want to do it even more,” said Jumikah Donovan, one of thousands who turned up thinking the Sydney ban was still in place.
