Police fired tear gas on protesters in Paris during an unauthorised demonstration against racial injustice and police violence, EDNews.net reports citing Euro News.
The protest began peacefully at a courthouse in Paris as thousands gathered amidst global outrage over the death of George Floyd in the United States.
Protests against racism and police violence have spread throughout US cities in the past week and recently have come to several European countries including the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Protests in France also demanded justice for Adama Traoré, a French black man who died in police custody in 2016. Protesters in Paris threw projectiles and lit small fires.
Tensions escalated at a similar protest in Marseille and several hundred people who gathered in Lyon were dispersed by tear gas, according to a protester present at the event.
Protests have escalated worldwide in solidarity with US demonstrators.
The European Union's top foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the EU was "shocked and appalled" by the death of Floyd.
Social media also went black throughout the world as people posted black boxes in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.