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Security forces fired tear gas at a protest march against police violence in Paris on Saturday after masked protesters launched fireworks at their lines, put up barricades and threw stones.

Thousands of people across France marched in protest and demanded a free press after film of police beating a Black music producer fanned anger about a draft law that is seen as curbing the right of journalists to report on police brutality.

In Paris, protesters set street furniture on fire and clashed with police as they tried to block access to certain streets.

In Lille, Rennes, Strasbourg and other cities thousands more protested against the draft bill that makes it a crime to circulate images of police officers in certain circumstances, which opponents say limits press freedom.

Many carried placards with slogans like “Who will protect us from the police,” “Stop police violence,” and “Democracy bludgeoned.”

 

The journalists’ organizations and civil liberty groups who organized the marches were joined by extreme-left militants, environmental activists and yellow vest protesters, who have been protesting against government policies for two years.

Several so-called “black block” groups, who fought with police and smashed shop windows during the yellow vest protests, also took part.

*Reuters