The United Nations Human Rights Council has criticised France for increased police violence, particularly against protesters, during widespread Labour Day demonstrations across the country. Sweden’s representative at the Human Rights Council in Geneva called on France to take transparent measures to address allegations of excessive use of force by police and gendarmerie against protesters during demonstrations. Rights groups have previously pointed out the extensive scale of police violence in France during the 2018 “gilets jaunes” yellow vests protests and the 2022 Champions League finals, and have called on Paris to address the issue. Russia’s representative at the UN Council also expressed concern over the harsh and sometimes violent measures aimed at dispersing peaceful citizens in France. France was also called out for religious intolerance, attacks against migrants, and racial profiling by several countries at the UN Council as members carried out France’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The US representative at the UN Council urged Paris to expand efforts to counter crimes and threats of violence motivated by religious hatred such as antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate, including cases of harassment, vandalism, and assault.
2023-05-01 12:31:46 France criticised at UN over police violence, racism
Source from www.aljazeera.com