Europeupdated 1h ago2 min read
UN Experts Condemn France’s Excessive Force, Mass Arrests During Student Protests
“the list of grievances expanded beyond the failings of the public school system to encompass broader economic, political, and social dissatisfaction.”
“The scale of the arrests and detention, affecting several thousand people, mainly minors, appears disproportionate”
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UN experts condemn excessive force and mass arrests across France's student protests. Detentions affecting several thousand people, mainly minors, deemed disproportionate.
UN slams French crackdown
United Nations experts said French authorities used “excessive use of force” while dispersing nationwide student protests, and they warned that the “scale of the arrests and detention, affecting several thousand people, mainly minors” appeared disproportionate. The experts, including Gina Romero and Farida Shaheed, said authorities had launched initiatives in October to facilitate dialogue but that a “primarily security-focused response” sidelined the root causes of the mobilisation. The experts also said the “serious and, in some cases, irreversible injuries sustained by underage demonstrators during law enforcement operations are unacceptable and unjustifiable.”
The experts said they were in contact with French authorities and urged a comprehensive review of policing strategies and practices to enable demonstrators to express their concerns and facilitate a peaceful resolution of social conflicts. The Anadolu Ajansı report echoed the same UN framing, describing the injuries and detentions as “unacceptable” and “disproportionate” while condemning violence that injured police officers and damaged buildings and businesses.
Protest demands and numbers
The protests began among high school students in mid-September and spread to universities, with demonstrators demanding a “functioning education system” and “decent material conditions for education.” The French Interior Ministry said the government deployed 70,000 security forces and arrested 1,000 people during demonstrations on Saturday, which drew 410,000 protesters nationwide. A week earlier, public buildings were vandalised, hundreds of businesses were looted, and 2,700 people were arrested, while Interior Minister Laurent Nunez vowed to be “extremely vigilant, extremely firm” to quell future unrest.
Council on Foreign Relations described how teachers at the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry High School in Créteil went on strike on September 17, and it said protests expanded to high schools across the nation. The Council on Foreign Relations account said the protests continued throughout October, affecting more than one thousand of France’s approximately 3,700 high schools and drawing hundreds of thousands of protesters.
Education package and legal fight
France’s government announced education measures after student blockades, and student union Les Lycéens said, “Today we’re at the negotiating table, we’re able to negotiate with the government,” while Pierre Sourzat said, “We want measures, not half measures.” Education minister Édouard Geffray said some schools were so dilapidated they were “not fit” for teaching, and he announced a government loan of €4bn to regional authorities to begin repairs. Geffray said class sizes for 15-year-olds in the first year of high school would be capped at 28 in the 50% of schools in the lowest-income areas, increasing to all high schools next year.
The Guardian reported that Macron said nationwide street protests were likely continue, and it quoted Macron saying, “We will continue to hold the line.” France 24 reported that a proposed French law would make rioters liable to pay up to €10,000 for damage they cause, and Hanna Bouchareb said, “It’s very problematic because it undermines the right to protest.”