01:40France: Toulouse rally honours body found in river following police action
Residents gathered in the western French city of Toulouse on Wednesday, to honour the 24-year old man who fell in the Loire river during a police action in June and whose body was retrieved on Monday.
The rally was organised by a number of unions and political parties, to protest against police' brutality which resulted in the death of Steve Maia Canico on the night of the Fete de la Musique (Festival of Music) on June 21.
Many held flowers and carried signs demanding "Justice for Steve," calling for French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner's resignations. The crowds marched along the streets of the city, where riot police was deployed.
"It is not normal to discover the body of the guy who fell in the Loire [river] during the Festival of Music on June 21st, five weeks later," claimed a woman who joined the protest.
Canico's body was found on Monday, several hundred metres from the spot where he was seen for the last time on the night between 21 and 22 June, when police forces dispersed the revellers allegedly forcing some into the river. According to many participants, police deployed tear gas and used batons during the action.
[CORRECTION: the location was changed from Nantes to Toulouse]
01:40Residents gathered in the western French city of Toulouse on Wednesday, to honour the 24-year old man who fell in the Loire river during a police action in June and whose body was retrieved on Monday.
The rally was organised by a number of unions and political parties, to protest against police' brutality which resulted in the death of Steve Maia Canico on the night of the Fete de la Musique (Festival of Music) on June 21.
Many held flowers and carried signs demanding "Justice for Steve," calling for French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner's resignations. The crowds marched along the streets of the city, where riot police was deployed.
"It is not normal to discover the body of the guy who fell in the Loire [river] during the Festival of Music on June 21st, five weeks later," claimed a woman who joined the protest.
Canico's body was found on Monday, several hundred metres from the spot where he was seen for the last time on the night between 21 and 22 June, when police forces dispersed the revellers allegedly forcing some into the river. According to many participants, police deployed tear gas and used batons during the action.
[CORRECTION: the location was changed from Nantes to Toulouse]