PARIS: A man arrested in Paris during a memorial rally for his brother, who had died in police custody seven years ago, has been released from hospital on Sunday, amid calls for more protests.

The calls came with France still on edge after the police killing of a teen near Paris sparked the worst rioting in the country since 2005.

Youssouf Traore, 29, was detained by police on Saturday amid protests across the country that commemorated the death of his brother Adama Traore in 2016, many of them in defiance of police bans on gatherings.

According to a police source, Youssouf Traore was injured in the eye during his arrest at the Paris protest attended by some 2,000 people, and was taken to hospital after becoming sick at the police station.

Youssouf Traore has been accused of hitting cop at rally attended by some 2,000 people

Youssouf Traore appeared with a swollen right eye and torn T-shirt sleeve in a video posted on Sunday by the “Truth for Adama” on Twitter.

According to the account, he suffered a fractured nose, head trauma with a black eye, and contusions to his chest, abdomen and lumbar.

The account’s managers said a complaint will be lodged “to denounce this serious violence”.

Youssouf Traore was arrested on charges of violence against a public official, having been accused of hitting a police officer at the start of the rally at Place de la Republique, according to a source close to the case.

The charges had been lifted due to his hospitalisation, the Paris prosecutor’s office said, but could be reinstated later.

The forceful arrest, filmed by several witnesses, showed him resisting and being tackled and held face down by several police officers, provoking condemnation by several left-wing politicians on social media.

France has banned the sale, possession and transport of fireworks during the July 14 national holiday weekend, following riots sparked by the police killing a teenager, the government said on Sunday.

Fireworks were among the weapons of choice during the unrest that exploded in France after a police officer shot dead a 17-year-old during a traffic stop on June 27 near Paris, rekindling long pent-up frustrations and accusations of systemic racism among France’s security forces.

“In order to prevent the risk of serious disturbances to public order during the July 14 festivities, the sale, possession, transport and use of pyrotechnical articles and fireworks is banned until July 15 inclusively,” said a government decree published in the official Journal on Sunday.

The ban does not extend to professionals or municipalities that are organising traditional fireworks for the Bastille Day celebrations, it added.

Worried about a possible resurgence of rioting, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told the daily Le Parisien on Saturday that the government would deploy “massive means to protect the French” during the national holiday.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2023