French Ambassador Pierre Cochard was summoned to Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, where Hamid Ahmadi, acting director general for human rights affairs, conveyed Tehran’s concerns over the treatment of protesters, Press TV reported.
Ahmadi pointed to France’s obligations under international human rights treaties and called on the French government to uphold fundamental rights, including the right to peaceful assembly.
He also urged Paris to investigate reports of excessive use of force and establish an independent mechanism to examine violations of protesters’ rights.
The Iranian diplomat cited reports of injuries and more than 5,000 arrests during the protests, while also expressing concern over reports that police and security forces had entered school premises and classrooms.
The protests, which began in September over deteriorating school facilities, a shortage of teachers and other education-related grievances, have spread across France.
More than 1,000 schools were affected at the height of the demonstrations, while clashes between protesters and police have been reported in several cities.4
French authorities have said more than 5,000 people were arrested during the unrest, most of them minors. Officials have also reported injuries among students, school staff and police officers, while dozens of schools have been damaged or disrupted.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei addressed the unrest in a post on X, saying violence against police and damage to public property cannot be justified.
At the same time, Baghaei questioned the differences in the way protests are viewed in Iran and France, stating that human rights and the right to protest should not depend on where a demonstration takes place.
“The problem is not protest; the problem is the double standard,” Baghaei said. “If human rights and the right to protest are principles, they should not change depending on the geography of the protester,” he added.
The unprecedented protest movement, which began outside a single school in a low-income Paris suburb, has since spread across France, taking the government by surprise.
The unrest comes amid mounting concerns over the cost of living. Inflation reached 2.4 percent year-on-year in August, while energy prices rose sharply, adding to pressure on lower-income households.
The protests have also taken on a political dimension, with France only months away from its presidential election. The government has accused the hard-left France Unbowed party, or LFI, of encouraging the unrest.
MNA
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