France police to ban chokehold arrest as protest anger mounts

France said it would ban the controversial chokehold used to detain suspects after the death in custody of George Floyd in the United States intensified anger over the conduct of French police.

A wave of global protests in the wake of Floyd’s fatal arrest magnified attention on the 2016 death in French police custody of Adama Traore, a 24-year-old black man, and renewed controversy over claims of racism and brutality within the force.

France’s police watchdog said it had received almost 1,500 complaints against officers last year half of them for alleged violence.

After a string of protests in recent days, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner announced the chokehold method “will be abandoned”.