French police trigger public outrage over interventions during protests

Human rights activists, French ombudsman voice concern over police violence

by Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA

French police triggered massive public outrage over interventions during the protests against the government's pension reform.

Workers and trade unions launched nationwide demonstrations and walkouts in January after Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne revealed the reform plan, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030.

The public outrage intensified when Borne, after consulting with President Emmanuel Macron, decided to use special constitutional powers – Article 49.3 – to adopt the bill without parliamentary approval on March 16.

During the protests, police arrested hundreds of people, and many of them were arbitrary arrests, according to human rights NGOs.

Police also used tear gas on peaceful protesters during April 13 demonstrations, according to an Anadolu correspondent on the ground.

Videos on social media also showed the police brutality in the previous rounds of protests.

Last month, France's Defender of Rights Ombudsman Claire Hedon in a statement warned the authorities about the use of force against the protesters.

"Personal freedom can only be limited within the legal framework and conditions," Hedon added.

Hundreds of complaints were filed on March 31 because of arbitrary arrests during protests in France.

Meanwhile, protests were held on March 25 at Deux-Sevres, in western France, against the authorities' decision on water resources.

Police intervention was extremely brutal and two people were severely injured and fell into a coma, according to media reports.

The agricultural union Peasant Confederation, association Bassines Non Merci, and ecology movement Soulevements de la Terre blamed the security forces for extremely violent intervention, noting that 200 people were injured, including 40 severely.

BRAV-M, contested police unit

The motorized violent action repression brigades (BRAV-M) are a controversial police unit that triggered reactions after involvement in racism, violence, and arbitrary aggression allegations.

French politicians signed a petition to ask for its dissolution in March.

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez, however, said that the dissolution was not on the agenda.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and President Macron stood up for the police in the face of those accusations, saying that they were deliberately targeted and injured during the protests.

The Paris Observatory of Civil Liberties (OPLP), an independent initiative created under the Human Rights League (LDH), in a report on Thursday, criticized the BRAV-M unit members' proceedings during the demonstrations.

"The BRAV-M has developed a style inspired by hunting, action movies, and … intimidation," the report said. "This purely repressive unit reflects the executive power's indifference to the citizens' concerns."