UN experts sound alarm at excessive use of force in French student protests

Key points

• UN experts say France's arrests of thousands of student protesters, mainly minors, appear disproportionate.
• France deployed 70,000 security forces and arrested 1,000 people during Saturday protests that drew 410,000 nationwide.
• The experts called injuries to underage demonstrators during police operations unacceptable and unjustifiable.

United Nations experts have raised alarm over what they call the excessive use of force by French authorities in dispersing recent nationwide student protests. In a statement on Wednesday, four experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council said the scale of arrests and detentions, affecting several thousand people, mainly minors, appears disproportionate and discourages demonstrators from exercising their freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.

The experts included Gina Romero, special rapporteur on the freedom of peaceful assembly, and Farida Shaheed, the UN expert on cultural rights. They said that although authorities launched initiatives in October to facilitate dialogue and respond to students' demands, a primarily security-focused response has pushed the root causes of the mobilisation aside.

Protests and police response

Student protests have been ongoing in France since mid-September, initially sparked by conditions in high schools, including deteriorating buildings, overcrowded classrooms and teacher absences. Students have also joined nationwide demonstrations over the rising cost of living, which led to riots and looting on the sidelines.

France's Interior Ministry said 70,000 security forces were deployed and 1,000 people were arrested during Saturday's demonstrations, which drew 410,000 protesters nationwide. A week earlier, public buildings were vandalised, hundreds of businesses were looted and 2,700 people were arrested, with Interior Minister Laurent Nunez vowing to be "extremely vigilant" against future unrest.

The scale of the arrests and detention, affecting several thousand people, mainly minors, appears disproportionate

— UN experts mandated by the Human Rights Council

Injuries and expert concerns

The UN experts said the serious and in some cases irreversible injuries sustained by underage demonstrators during law enforcement operations are unacceptable and unjustifiable. In one case, a teenager in the northern city of Lille lost a hand when a grenade exploded as school protesters clashed with police.

The experts recalled past discussions urging French authorities to comprehensively review policing strategies and practices so demonstrators can express their concerns and social conflicts can be resolved peacefully. They said they are in contact with French authorities on the issue.