Three French police officers have been charged with manslaughter over the death of a delivery driver, who was restrained using the chokehold method during an arrest in January.

Cédric Chouviat, 42 and of Algerian origin, was stopped by the police officers while riding his scooter near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Two days after the event, he was rushed to hospital in a critical condition and the prosecutor's report claims he died of asphyxiation and a fractured larynx.

His family said the charges were too "lenient" and has asked for chokeholds and similar restraint techniques to be banned.

A fourth police officer, who filmed a video of the arrest, is still under investigation. The footage shows Chouviat saying, "I'm suffocating," seven times while officers held him down before collapsing.

In France, demonstrations against police brutality and racial profiling have been ongoing since the death of George Floyd in the U.S.. Interior minister Christophe Castaner announced a ban on chokeholds in June only for the director-general of the National Police in France, Frederic Veaux, to insist they would continue to be used "with moderation and discernment."

The National Police has formed a working group to assess other, less invasive methods of restraint and will report its findings on 1 September.