Sergi-Pontoise: Following the government's decision to forbid a memorial rally out of concern that it might rekindle the recent unrest that gripped the nation, dozens of marches against police brutality in France have been planned for this coming Saturday.

Adama Traore, a young black man, died while in police custody seven years ago, and his sister had planned to lead a memorial march in Persan and Beaumont-sur-Oise, north of Paris, in his honour.

However, a court decided the likelihood of public disturbance was too high to permit the march to go forward because of the ongoing high levels of tension following the police killing of 17-year-old Nahel, an Algerian-born teenager, at a traffic stop last week.

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Adama's older sister Assa Traore confirmed in a video that "there will be no march in Beaumont-sur-Oise" as a result of the court order.

She said in the video that "the government has chosen to add fuel to the fire" and "not to respect the death of my little brother."
She stated she would go to a rally on Saturday afternoon in central Paris' Place de la Republique in place of the scheduled event, in order to tell "the whole world that our dead have the right to exist, even in death."

However, the Paris police headquarters has stated that this "march for justice" will also be prohibited.

An online map shows that there will be about 30 similar protests against police brutality this weekend throughout France, including in the cities of Lille, Marseille, Nantes, and Strasbourg.

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As France reels from accusations of institutionalised racism in its police ranks following the police shooting of Nahel M, a number of trade unions, political parties, and associations had urged supporters to join the memorial march for Traore this year.

The 24-year-old Traore passed away shortly after his arrest in 2016, setting off several nights of unrest that resembled the week-long rioting that broke out across the nation after Nahel was shot in the face during a traffic stop.

After the teen's death on June 27, long-standing claims of systemic racism against security personnel were brought to light, and a UN committee urged France to outlaw racial profiling.

However, far-right parties have demanded restrictions on immigration in response to the country's most severe and widespread riots since 2005.

The "citizens marches" on Saturday, according to advocacy groups, will give people a chance to voice their "grief and anger" at discriminatory police practises, particularly in working-class neighbourhoods.

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They are advocating changes to the police, including their equipment and policing strategies.
The groups were criticised by government spokesman Olivier Veran for holding protests "in major cities that have not yet recovered from the rampages."

In connection with the protests since Nahel's passing, more than 3,700 people, including at least 1,160 minors, have been taken into police custody, according to official statistics