France: Council of Europe concerned about policing protests

Riot police charge protesters during a rally in Paris, Thursday, March 23, 2023. © Christophe Ena / AP

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The French demonstrators who denounced police violence are not alone, they received this Friday, March 24 the support of the Council of Europe. The Commissioner for Human Rights issued a lengthy statement on the protests against the pension reform, contradicting the French interior minister by saying that participating in an undeclared demonstration was not enough to justify an infringement of the right of assembly or to justify a sanction.

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The concerns of the Strasbourg institution with regard to the France are therefore all the more noticed as they are rare, says our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet. Usually, when the Council of Europe is alarmed by the human rights situation in one of the organisation's 46 member countries, it is rather for countries in the east of the European continent or against Russia before its exclusion a year ago.

The last time the Council of Europe expressed concern about the situation in France was four years ago, in February 2019 about policing the Yellow Vest movement.

Protecting freedom of assembly and freedom of expression

The Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, calls on the France to protect freedom of assembly and freedom of expression against all forms of violence. The authorities must ensure that these freedoms are respected and protect peaceful protesters and journalists from excesses and police violence.

#Manifestations in #France: The violence must stop. This is a necessary condition for the effective exercise of freedom of expression and assembly, as well as for trust between the population and the security forces. https://t.co/G5lIvzpDkU

— Commissioner for Human Rights (@CommissionerHR) March 24, 2023

There is no justification for the excessive use of force, says Dunja Mijatović, who also points out that the release without prosecution of many people calls into question the necessity and proportionality of their arrest.

The French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, also announced, on Friday, March 24, the opening of eleven judicial investigations into alleged police violence for a week as part of the mobilization against the pension reform.

From Brussels, where he was attending a European Council, Emmanuel Macron said he was available to "make progress on subjects such as professional wear and tear, end of career, retraining, career development, working conditions, remuneration in certain sectors [...] And so I am at the disposal of the inter-union if it wishes to come and meet me to move forward on all these subjects".

► READ ALSO: France: protesters and union denounce an increase in police violence

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