MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, the demonstrators gathered at Place de la Republique, holding photos of murdered Liu Shaoyao, as well as banners reading "For peace, for justice! Against violence" and "I love France." The event started peacefully with a minute of silence at the foot of a statue in the center of the square, where Liu's photo and a banner reading "Police are murderers, we want justice."
According to Ouest France media outlet, the protest turned violent after the participants started throwing fruit, eggs and bottles into police officers, forcing them to use tear gas. The clashes reportedly lasted for an hour.
🎥 #SputnikVidéo L'extrême émotion des proches de #ShaoyoLiu rassemblés place de la République
— Sputnik France (@sputnik_fr) 2 апреля 2017 г.
Lire aussi: https://t.co/lWvh3RfGUk pic.twitter.com/sWzxHVeLD5
🔴 #EnDirect Manifestation en hommage à Shaoyo Liu dégénère à #Paris https://t.co/NQxNd7vjdb#shaoyaoliu pic.twitter.com/31bbTCCpQI
— Sputnik France (@sputnik_fr) 2 апреля 2017 г.
📸 #SputnikPhotos Les parents de Liu Shaoyao se joignent au rassemblement, place de la Républiquehttps://t.co/ag0rAhs0bs pic.twitter.com/4O2kDY3ofP
— Sputnik France (@sputnik_fr) 2 апреля 2017 г.
On March 26, a 56-year-old man of Chinese origin was killed in a standoff with the French police. Chinese media claimed citing the victim's relatives that the officers broke into the individual's house without two warnings and opened fire, while the man was able to injure one policeman with scissors. The police officers reportedly came to the place of the incident after a row between the victim and his neighbor about noise.
On March 28, Beijing filed a protest to the French authorities over the incident.
The accident triggered mass protests against police brutality in the French capital.
