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Four United Nations human rights experts on Wednesday denounced the “unjustifiable” tactics French security forces have used against weeks of student protests, saying the violence was “unacceptable” and the number of arrests and detentions “disproportionate.”
The four are rapporteurs mandated by the UN Human Rights Council. In a joint statement, they said they were “appalled” by the violence suffered by pupils and students who have taken to the streets across France.
The experts said the young demonstrators are calling for what is “long overdue”: a functioning education system, decent material conditions for learning, appropriate school and university timetables, and territorial and social equality in access to quality education.
France has seen weeks of student protests over conditions in high schools. Students have also joined nationwide demonstrations over the cost of living, which have sparked riots and looting on their sidelines.
The experts focused on injuries sustained by underage protesters during police operations. They described the “serious and, in some cases, irreversible” harm as “unacceptable and unjustifiable.”
At least one student lost a hand while picking up a police grenade, according to the statement. A teenage girl lost an eye after being struck by a tear gas cartridge.
The experts also criticized the scale of arrests and detentions, which they said have affected several thousand people, mainly minors. In their view, the figures appear disproportionate and deter demonstrators from exercising their freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.
The experts said they had previously urged French authorities, in past talks, to “undertake a comprehensive review of their policing strategies and practices.” Such a review, they said, would let demonstrators express their concerns.
Among those who signed the statement were Gina Romero, the special rapporteur on the freedom of peaceful assembly, and Farida Shaheed, the UN expert on cultural rights.
Special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council. They work in an unpaid, personal capacity and do not speak on behalf of the United Nations as a whole.
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