France’s student protests expose a question that human rights organisations should not be allowed to dodge: do universal principles remain universal when the police force belongs to a powerful Western state? To be honest, the answer matters because the French protests are not some marginal disturbance. On Tuesday, 6 October, 266,000 people marched across France, according to Interior Ministry figures, after 86,000 had already been counted outside Paris.
The movement began in late September with lycée pupils demanding more teachers, smaller classes, shorter and more manageable school days, decent buildings and modern equipment. Their anxiety is also about what comes next: university access, Parcoursup and the fear that an underfunded education system is closing doors before adulthood. Much of that is an ordinary democratic demand like young people asking whether their country is giving them a fair chance.
However, the streets have also exposed something darker, where the protests have repeatedly descended into clashes. Police have used tear gas, batons and crowd-control weapons, and the situation looks worse than it sounds. In Tours, a 16-year-old lost the use of his right eye after a head injury that prosecutors said was compatible with a blast-ball projectile.
In Lens, a 15-year-old lost his hand after picking up a police grenade during a confrontation. The Interior Ministry says hundreds of officers and students have been injured, while thousands have been arrested, the overwhelming majority minors. There are allegations beyond the streets in which lawyers representing detained teenagers have told French media of physical violence, insults and attempts at humiliation during police custody.
And those claims should be investigated rather than automatically labelled “torture” before the facts are established, shouldn't they?. Looking at the case, they are serious allegations involving children, and that should be enough to demand scrutiny. Eleven investigations into alleged police violence had been opened, according to reporting on Wednesday.
So where are Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders? That makes the question more interesting, not less. Because when similar allegations arise in Azerbaijan, the language can become dramatically more categorical and politically charged.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
