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French government under pressure over police beating of music producer

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Pressure on the French government and police leadership intensified Friday after the police beating of a black music producer in Paris sparked outrage across the …
Pressure on the French government and police leadership intensified Friday after the police beating of a black music producer in Paris sparked outrage across the spectrum, from top politicians to football stars. Images published by the Loopsider website show how music producer Michel Zecler was repeatedly beaten by police for several minutes and subjected to racial abuse as he tried to enter his music studio Saturday evening. The incident was condemned by football World Cup winners Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann. A presidential official said on Friday that President Emmanuel Macron, too, was “very shocked” by the images. The incident raised questions over the future of Paris police chief Didier Lallement, already in the spotlight after the forced removal of a migrant camp in Paris earlier in the week which has been widely condemned. It also put the government on the backfoot as it tries to push through controversial new security legislation that would restrict the right of the media to publish the faces of police agents. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who is in charge of the police forces, told French television that the officers “had soiled the uniform of the republic” and that he would press for their dismissal.

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