Iran Summons French Ambassador Over Student Protest Crackdown
Iran summoned the French ambassador to protest the arrest of 5,000 students and the use of excessive police force during demonstrations across France.
The Government of Iran summoned French Ambassador Pierre Cochard to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday to protest the French government's crackdown on student demonstrations. Hamid Ahmadi, acting director general for human rights affairs, demanded that Paris investigate reports of excessive police force and uphold the right to peaceful assembly.
The protests began in September in a Paris suburb over teacher shortages and deteriorating school facilities before spreading to more than 1,000 schools across France. French authorities have arrested over 5,000 people, primarily minors, and reported injuries among both students and police. The unrest coincides with rising energy costs and inflation, and the French government has accused the hard-left France Unbowed party of inciting the demonstrations ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated that violence against police is unjustifiable but criticized the international double standard regarding how human rights and protests are viewed in Iran compared to France.
