French student protests: UN experts sound alarm over excessive force and injuries to underage demonstrators

Protests grow beyond schools

Student protests have continued across France since mid-September. They began with complaints about deteriorating high school buildings, crowded classrooms and teacher absences. Students later joined nationwide demonstrations over the rising cost of living. Riots and looting took place on the sidelines of those demonstrations.

UN experts condemn force

United Nations experts expressed alarm at what they called the excessive use of force by French authorities as police dispersed protests. They included Gina Romero, the special rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly, and Farida Shaheed, the UN expert on cultural rights.

The rapporteurs said serious injuries, including some they described as irreversible, had been sustained by underage demonstrators during law enforcement operations. They called those injuries unacceptable and unjustifiable.

Concerns over rights

The experts warned that police crackdowns could discourage demonstrators from exercising their rights. Their statement said they were in contact with French authorities about the issue. Alice Cohen-Morzadec, a spokesperson for Union Etudiante, told Al Jazeera that protesters’ resentment was directed at French President Emmanuel Macron and his policies. She said those policies had harmed rights and living conditions.