Police fired tear gas after clashes erupted in the suburbs of Paris as demonstrators protested over the assault of a young black man who was allegedly anally raped with a truncheon while being arrested.
Surrounded by a heavy police contingent, about 2,000 protesters, some carrying placards saying "Police rape" and "Police kill innocent people," gathered in Bobigny, northeast of the French capital, to demand "Justice for Theo".
Theo, a 22-year-old black youth worker, required surgery after his arrest on February 2 in the "3,000" estate in the gritty suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois, when he claims a police officer sodomised him with a baton.
Projectiles were thrown at police on a footbridge with several vehicles torched and windows smashed on the sidelines of the protest, police said.
Fire fighters extinguish flames during a protest in Bobigny, a district of northeast Paris, to denounce police brutality. /AFP Photo
In a statement police listed projectiles thrown against public buildings, four vehicles torched, two shops and a bus station damaged and several bins burned.
The demonstration ended in the evening after police fired tear gas.
Rape charges have been filed against the officer and all four police involved in Theo's stop-and-search have been suspended pending an investigation.
Rallies took place in other French cities, including Rouen where some 200 people demonstrated, while around 250 gathered in Toulouse and more than 300 in Nantes.
(Source: AFP)
