Several thousand people defied a coronavirus-related ban on protests to pay homage to George Floyd and Adama Traore, a French Black man who died in police custody.

Tear gas choked Paris streets as riot police faced off with protesters setting fires amid growing global outrage over Floyd's death in the United States, racial injustice and heavy-handed police tactics around the world.

"Today we are not just talking about the fight of the Traore family.

When we fight for George Floyd, we fight for Adama Traore," Adama's sister Assa Traore said at the protest.

Last Friday, French medical experts exonerated the three police officers, dismissing a medical report commissioned by the young man's family that said he had died of asphyxiation.

Adding to the controversy, a new probe commissioned by the Traore family said on Tuesday his death was caused by the arrest technique used by the officers, a source said.