The protesters were inspired by the recent uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, whose long-serving presidents were forced from power after weeks of demonstrations.
Alexis Poulin, director of European media network EurActiv, added: "Social dialogue in France is always very antagonistic, so we see shows of force through demonstrations on the streets.
In addition to monetary damages, the lawsuits seek an order that the city establish and maintain a policy regarding the use of force during demonstrations and conforming with federal standards.
Facing the full force of a crackdown on their demonstrations by the Syrian army and police, at least some of the city's residents have taken up arms, either to defend themselves and their communities or to go on the attack.
In a series of events that has been especially dramatic for my people, the French writer and philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy has recently offered a significant demonstration of the force of ideas and the power of convictions when these are followed through to their logical conclusion and acted upon.
Such disproportionate police force ignited three weeks of demonstrations in the capital, Kampala, and resulted in two deaths, injuries to 120 people, and 360 arrests.
But a separate youth protest movement has been a driving force in the months of demonstrations, and its members say they feel they are being left out of the debate on a deal involving Mr. Saleh.
It said it was deeply concerned by "the seriously damaging lack of accountability for human rights violations committed by security forces in the context of demonstrations".
The release of the video set off weeks of demonstrations, forced the resignation of police superintendent Garry McCarthy and has led to an ongoing wide-ranging civil rights investigation of the entire Chicago police department by the US Department of Justice.
Because they are demonstrations of the actual force of freedom, rather than mere rhetoric in its favor.
