Iran lambasts French police over excessive violence against protesters

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The Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, condemned the violence by the French police against protesters, saying that the move reveals France's non-adherence to democratic principles and freedom of speech.

Nasser Kanaani commented on the excessive use of force by the French police during the mass protests over President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plan.

The action of the French police in resorting to violence against protesting citizens of the country is unacceptable and shows the French government’s lack of commitment to the principles of democracy and freedom of expression, Kana’ani expressed in a tweet, urging them to stop resorting to violence against protesters.

اقدام پلیس فرانسه در توسل به خشونت علیه اعتراضات شهروندان این کشور غیرقابل قبول و نشانگر عدم التزام دولت فرانسه به اصول دموکراسی و آزادی بیان است.
به دولت فرانسه توصیه می کنیم از رفتار دوگانه و استفاده ابزاری از حقوق بشر اجتناب کرده و از توسل به خشونت علیه معترضان دست بردارد. pic.twitter.com/806r8FRwGk

— Nasser Kanaani (@IRIMFA_SPOX) March 19, 2023

“We advise the French government to avoid duplicitous behavior and instrumental use of human rights and stop resorting to violence against protesters,” he added.

Paradoxical human rights preaching

As such, Iran slammed the French government for its brutality against French protesters, stressing that the French are known to preach to others about human rights, indicating the hypocrisy. 

Read more: Iran slams France's hypocrisy, brutality during anti-reform protests

Videos of the french police using excessive force against protesters were posted and excessively shared.

In an earlier statement, Kanaani sarcastically said, “The practical lesson of the French police to others is respecting human rights and honoring the rights of protesters,” referring to the Western countries' paradoxical actions regarding the violent, sometimes armed, riots in Iran and the peaceful protests in their own countries.

“Human rights lectures of the self-proclaimed rights advocates are for others. They are strangers to them (their own human rights lectures). There are many of these examples in the US and Europe!”, he added.

Kanaani sarcastically referred to what has been happening in France as an example of respecting human rights and honoring the rights of protesters in the "European Garden".

Western-fueled Iranian protests 

Iran fell target to Western-fueled protests ever since the death of Mahsa Amini; her death was blamed on the Iranian police. After her demise, mass riots took the streets in mid-September. 

Iranian authorities accused Western countries of fueling the riots, including France. Even European diplomats were told to protest with anti-Iranian media reports in an attempt to overthrow the country's government. 

Western countries rushed to promote anti-Iran campaigns, which were based on false news and intentionally aimed to condemn Tehran.

French President Macron called for international sanctions against Iranian officials saying, "I am in favor of a strong diplomatic reaction and sanctions on the figures of the regime who have a responsibility" in what he called "the repression of this revolution," in an interview for France Inter radio.

Regardless of the fact that Iran was already the target of numerous sanctions, Macron still called on more. 

Protests in France

France has been witnessing a series of protests and strikes over the past few weeks ahead of the approval of a controversial draft bill claimed to reform the country's pension policy. Macron is pushing to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64, as he says it is vital to avoid a collapse in the state pension system. 

Raising the retirement age by 2 years would yield an additional 17.7 billion euros in annual pension contributions, which leads to allowing the system to break even by 2027, the Labor Ministry estimates. 

As a result, outrage flared on Thursday afternoon when the Macron administration used a criticized and controversial power to impose a pension overhaul by decree; they used a special procedure to push its pension reform without having it voted on by the French parliament. 

This move sparked violent protests on the streets of France where the police fired tear gas at some 7,000 protesters on the Place de la Concorde in Paris. Over 200 people have been arrested all around France, 258 in Paris. 

Opinion polls were conducted which showed that two-thirds of the Frencparlh oppose the reform and support the protests organized by trade unions, who continue to mobilize against the reform. 

The protesters fear that the reform will penalize low-wage earners and force manual job workers to stay at their jobs longer.

Read next: As protests escalate, Macron's popularity is dealt a mighty blow