France: Drowning of festival-goer triggers protest of police
PARIS (AP) — Several hundred protesters have rallied in western France over the death of a local man who drowned during a clash between police and music festival participants.
The demonstration in the city of Nantes was mostly peaceful but officers fired short water cannon blasts at a few rowdy people, who then set fire to a small market stand in a square.
Exceptional security measures were put in place for Saturday's rally amid growing public anger over the death of 24-year-old Steve Maia Canico.
Canico's body was found in the Loire River on Monday. At the June 22 music festival, police fired tear gas and some festival-goers fell into the river.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has promised an administrative inquiry and a judicial investigation would ensure "all the truth will be known" about Canico's drowning.
