Death of George Floyd: America under tension, mobilization spreads to the world

The curfew did not have the desired effect. Anger is raging in the United States, and the wave of emotion which followed the brutal death Monday of George Floyd during his arrest by the police still pushes the Americans in the streets, while the body of a man was found this Sunday morning near a burnt car.

All these anonymous people demand that justice be done for their compatriot, while many stars call for the fight against racism. The demonstrations of support are now crossing borders, with in particular a large rally in the United Kingdom this Sunday and speaking out to France.

Police show up in support of protesters

If clashes have broken out in recent days, a scene of "fraternization" between the police and the demonstrators is talking about it this Sunday. The scene takes place in Michigan. In the picture, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson addresses the crowd. We want to be with you. "These policemen love you! ", He claims. The demonstrators exult and all this small world then engages in a march which lasted several hours, in the most total calm.

In Michigan, a sheriff and police fraternize with demonstrators and march with the crowd against police violence and racism in the police. The beginning of the end of denial? pic.twitter.com/qs5P7HAGTd

In Santa Cruz, Mayor Justin Cummings and Chief of Police Andrew Mills kneeled down in honor of George Floyd. In the United States, this gesture was popularized by NFL (American Football League) player Colin Kaepernick, who became a spokesperson for protests in the United States against police violence, especially against minorities of color.

Powerful image of the protest in Santa Cruz this morning. Mayor Justin Cummings and Police Chief Andrew Mills took a knee in solidarity. (📷: Shmuel Thaler.) Pic.twitter.com/EQ36VNIKtC

Body found near burned car

This scene, unfortunately, does not testify to the reality of the last days. Elsewhere in the country, sometimes violent clashes broke out. In Minneapolis, the body of a man was found near a burnt out car this Sunday morning. He had bruises and had not been identified at the time of writing. An investigation has been opened.

Elsewhere, violence has broken out in several major American cities. Clashes have also taken place in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Atlanta, leading officials from the latter two cities, as well as those from Miami and Chicago, to announce in turn a curfew.

Sometimes violent scenes are widely shared on social networks. The BBC notably relayed this video filmed in New York, where two police vehicles are seen advancing towards the crowd without stopping, and urging local authorities to speak.

NEW: Police vehicles drive into crowd of protesters in New York City pic.twitter.com/4TsuAI9xMj

Asked about it, the mayor of the democratic city Bill de Blasio refused to overwhelm the police, who he said was responsible for managing an "impossible" situation. Comments described as unacceptable by Senator Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “Driving SUVs in a crowd of people should never, never be standardized. It doesn't matter who does it, it doesn't matter why, ”she wrote on Twitter.

Antifa groups considered "terrorist organizations"?

A new response from the American president to the violence of the past few days arrived this Sunday. On Twitter, as he usually does, Donald Trump announced that the Antifa groups - which defines a collective of different autonomous groups in the United States - will now be considered "terrorist organizations".

The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.

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President Donald Trump had promised to "stop collective violence" after several nights of riots in Minneapolis. "We must not let a small group of criminals and vandals destroy our cities," he said, attributing the outbursts to "groups of the radical far left" and in particular "Antifa".

Gathering in London

The mobilization now goes beyond American borders. Several hundred people marched this Sunday in London. " No justice, no peace ! », Chanted the crowd several times, who gathered around 1:00 pm in Trafalgar Square, in the heart of the British capital.

Some displayed cardboard signs that read "Black lives matter" or "Our skin color is not a crime".

Hundreds of people demonstrate outside US Embassy in London against death of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolishttps: //t.co/p7Td5zzOkz pic.twitter.com/zK10XuRLJ3

The demonstrators then knelt for ten minutes, a gesture that has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in the United States, where similar rallies take place every day, before starting a march towards the American embassy, ​​despite the social distancing measures still in force against the new coronavirus.

A record petition, stars mobilized everywhere

The stars, too, are mobilizing. In the United States, Beyonce is one of the most committed. On her website, the 38-year-old singer posted a photo of George Floyd with a message of support and a link to a petition published on the site change.org, which to date has nearly 9 million signatures, a number record. She was also relayed by stars Ariana Grande and Cardi B. Like Beyonce, Rihanna asked that justice be done on her Instagram account.

In Germany, three black Bundesliga players paid tribute to George Floyd on the pitch. The most spectacular gesture was that of Mönchengladbach forward Marcus Thuram, son of 1998 French world champion Lilian Thuram, who knelt down on Sunday to celebrate a goal. Right after the match, his club posted a photo of his player on his knees on the ground with his gaze turned to the ground on Twitter, with a caption in English: " No explanation needed ".

Marcus Thuram takes a knee after scoring Borussia Mönchengladbach's second goal of the game pic.twitter.com/Gnai0OrNH0

In France, footballer Kylian Mbappé posted a tweet incorporating the hashtag (keyword) #JusticeForGeorge. Since then, many other influencers, widely followed on social networks, have also shared photos and messages of support while ordinary internet users do the same. The hashtag #acab (" All cops are bastards ", "All cops are bastards" note) has made a comeback.