Amnesty warns "of the excessive use of force and abusive arrests"

The NGO Amnesty International is alarmed by the "excessive use of force and abusive arrests" denounced during the demonstrations in France against the pension reform, and calls on the authorities to "ensure the safety of the demonstrators".

"We are alerting to the excessive use of force and abusive arrests, reported in several media," wrote Amnesty International France in a series of tweets on its Twitter account. "While new demonstrations are expected throughout France, we recall that the French authorities must ensure that the right to demonstrate is respected and guaranteed" and "ensure the safety of demonstrators by avoiding the use of excessive force", adds Amnesty.

The NGO also asks the French authorities "to ban the use of de-encirclement grenades", in view of the "dangerousness of these weapons whose projectiles hit people randomly".

Amnesty also denounces an "abusive use of batons" and notes that "several media have documented the use of tear gas projected directly on peaceful demonstrators to disperse demonstrations without systematically being able to disperse, and in large quantities ".

The batons "should never be used on peaceful people, already subdued or in the process of dispersing", underlines the NGO. "After the mobilization on January 19, a protester had to have his testicle amputated after being hit in the crotch with a baton. However, he presented no danger. Other misuse of the batons was reported", reports the NGO. In a press release on Tuesday, the French Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin underlined "the essential proportionality of the use of force and the need to immediately seize the inspections in the event of a breach of ethics".

Since March 16 - the date of the government's recourse to the constitutional weapon of 49.3 to force through the National Assembly its pension reform - several hundred demonstrators have been arrested in France, their police custody ended most often by a classification without follow-up. According to Amnesty, on March 16, "292 people were arrested and taken into custody" during the demonstration at Place de la Concorde in Paris, of which "283 came out free".

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Tuesday that the police "have a duty to set an example" in the management of the demonstrations against the pension reform. Unions of lawyers, magistrates, NGOs and left-wing politicians denounce for their part police violence.