The latest on protests against racism and police brutality around the world.
PALMDALE, Calif. — Authorities in the Southern California city of Palmdale are investigating the death of a 24-year-old black man found hanging from a tree near City Hall, which they originally described as an apparent suicide, prompting outrage in the community.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of the high desert city of 150,000 on Saturday, marching from the park where Robert Fuller’s body was found to the Los Angeles County sheriff’s station demanding a full investigation into his death. Community members confronted city officials at a contentious news briefing Friday, asking why they were quick to label his death a suicide and demanding an independent autopsy.
Sheriff’s Capt. Ron Shaffer said homicide detectives were investigating the circumstances leading to Fuller’s death to determine if foul play was involved. Investigators have been in contact with Fuller’s family, Palmdale officials said.
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PARIS — France’s highest administrative court ruled Saturday night that virus concerns no longer justify banning public protests.
In a country that sees thousands of protests annually, the decision by the Council of State allows for the resumption of demonstrations and marches as long as health protections are respected, and events are declared in advance to local authorities and not deemed a risk to public order.
The Council ruled that “the ban on protesting is not justified by the current health situation.” It said the right to protest is a “fundamental freedom.”
The ruling came just as an unauthorized protest against police violence and racial injustice wound down in Paris. Police had stopped the at least 15,000 protesters from a planned march through the city Saturday, citing the virus-related restrictions on any gathering of more than 10 people. France has seen several unauthorized protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death in the U. S.
PARIS — Police fired tear gas and blocked demonstrators from marching through Paris to protest police brutality and racial injustice.
The tear gas began just as a group of extreme-right counter demonstrators were dislodged from the roof of a building overlooking the protest.
Protesters set off firecrackers and shouted at police but were otherwise peaceful. Families and others trying to leave the protest struggled to get out because police had blocked off most exit routes. The remaining crowd took a knee.
Police decided to bar the crowd from marching from the Place de la Republique in eastern Paris toward the city’s main opera house. A police official told The Associated Press the decision was made because of a nationwide ban on gatherings of more than 10 people to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The counter demonstrators had earlier unfurled a banner about “anti-white racism” and lit flares in the blue-white-red colors of the French flag.
Residents reached out their windows to tear down the banner. Activists later confronted the far-right activists on the roof, throwing their bags and ropes to the pavement below.
LONDON — Far-right activists scuffled with police in central London Saturday, as hundreds gathered to demonstrate despite strict police restrictions and warnings to stay home to contain the coronavirus.
Different groups of right-wing activists and soccer fans descended on the U. K. capital, saying they wanted to guard historical monuments that have been targeted in the last week by anti-racism protesters.
