Posted in:
Amnesty International has warned of the “excessive use of force and arbitrary arrests” that were condemned during the demonstrations in France against pension reform, calling on the authorities to “ensure the safety of the demonstrators.”
The organization’s branch in France wrote in a series of tweets on Twitter, “We warn against the excessive use of force and arbitrary arrest decisions that several media outlets have reported.”
“While new demonstrations are expected across France, we remind the French authorities of the need to ensure respect for the right to demonstrate” and “ensure the safety of demonstrators by avoiding excessive use of force,” the organization added.
Amnesty International condemned the “arbitrary use of batons,” noting that “several media outlets have documented the use of tear gas directly against peaceful demonstrators to disperse demonstrations without the possibility of dispersing systematically and in large quantities.”
The organization pointed out that the batons “should never be used against peaceful, controlled or dispersed persons.”
She pointed out that “after the mobilization of January 19, one of the demonstrators was forced to remove his testicle after being beaten with a baton between his legs, even though he did not represent any security threat.”
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin stressed the “fundamental proportionality in the use of force and the need to immediately resort to the control body in the event of a breach of professional ethics.”
