USA: Dunja Mijatovic, the commissioner for human rights for the Council of Europe, claimed on Friday that the French government had violated demonstrators' rights to freedom of assembly and expression by using excessive force against them as they protested the pension reform.
The circumstances surrounding the pension demonstrations, according to Mijatovic, are "concerning," and he went on to say that "sporadic acts of violence by some demonstrators or other reprehensible acts committed by others during a demonstration cannot justify the excessive use of force by state agents."
The French authorities have a duty to protect peaceful protesters and journalists from both police violence and fringe demonstrators, she added, adding that while some "violent incidents," including those against police, have occurred, they are "not sufficient to deprive peaceful demonstrators from enjoying the right of freedom of assembly."
According to the commissioner, "a state may have the right to use force, including to restore order, but such use must only occur as a last resort and in strict compliance with the conditions of necessity and proportionality." Violence, no matter where it originates, cannot be employed in any way to address a social or political crisis.
Mijatovic urged the administration of President Emmanuel Macron to follow both the recommendations made by the French human rights commission earlier this week and the Commission's recommendations from 2019 regarding the "Yellow Vests" protests.
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The National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) of France claimed on Thursday that peaceful protesters had been "kettled" by police during the week-long demonstrations and unjustly detained. Only nine of the 292 people detained in Paris on March 16 had any criminal charges brought against them, which, according to the CNCDH, indicates "excessive use of police custody" as a tactic to stifle lawful protests.
More than a million people participated in protests against pension reform on Thursday across France. By-passing the legislature, Macron raised the retirement age from 62 to 64 using executive privilege. Despite criticism from the opposition and labour unions, Macron has not changed his position.
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Gerald Darmanin, the interior minister, reported on Friday morning that over 900 street fires had been started by rioters, and that nearly 450 police and gendarmes had been hurt. He attributed the violence to "extreme left" organisations and "black bloc" anarchists.
