London, June 6 (RHC)-- Taking a knee, banging drums and ignoring social distancing measures, outraged protesters from Sydney to London kicked off global rallies against racism and police brutality on Saturday.

The death at police hands of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man in the U.S. state of Minnesota, has brought hundreds of thousands out onto the streets during a pandemic that is ebbing in Asia and Europe but still spreading in other parts of the world.

Demonstrators in Paris have tried to gather in front of the U.S. Embassy, defying restrictions on planned gatherings imposed by authorities in light of the coronavirus pandemic.  They were met by riot police. The embassy was sealed off behind an imposing ring of metal barriers and road blocks, but many protesters gathered nearby. 

“You can fine me 10,000 or 20,000 times, the revolt will happen anyway," Egountchi Behanzin, a founder of the Black African Defense League, told officers who stopped him to check his ID documents before he got close to the diplomatic building, according to the Associated Press news agency. 

British anti-racism protesters briefly clashed with mounted police after thousands gathered in central London to voice their anger.  After a largely peaceful day, small numbers of protesters near Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Downing Street residence threw bottles at police, and mounted officers charged at protesters to push them back.

Earlier, more than one thousand protesters marched past the U.S. Embassy on the south bank of the River Thames, blocking traffic and holding placards.

Police in the German city of Hamburg used pepper spray on protesters and were ready to deploy water cannons as some demonstrations in support of US anti-racist protests against police brutality turned ugly.  Hamburg police tweeted that several hundred "hooded and aggressive people" had put police officers under pressure in the city centre, adding: "We have already had to use pepper spray.  With all due respect for emotions: attacks on police officers are unacceptable!"

At another location nearby, they said some 350 people were standing in front of police water cannons.  "We regard this as an unauthorised (i.e. forbidden) meeting and now we are calling via loudspeaker announcements for people to leave."