UN Human Rights Council Criticizes France Over Racism, Police Violence

France has come under fire from the United Nations Human Rights Council due to the recent instances of increased police violence, especially toward protesters. The criticism comes as France faced widespread protests during Labor Day.

On Monday, as France marks its annual Labor Day, the Swedish envoy to the UNHRC said that France must be transparent and address the allegations “regarding excessive use of force by police and gendarmerie against protesters during demonstrations.” Aside from the police violence during the continued protests against the government over the pension reforms, human rights groups have also cited the scale of police violence in France during the 2018 protests and the 2022 Champions League finals.

The Russian envoy to the UNHRC, Kristina Sukacheva, said that “the harsh and sometimes violent measures aimed at dispersing peaceful citizens” in France are a concern. France was also criticized for religious intolerance, attacks against migrants, and racial profiling by several countries during the UNHRC meeting as members did France’s Universal Periodic Review, which is a process that all 193 UN countries must undergo every four years.

Kelly Billingsley, the US envoy to the UNHRC, said Washington wanted France 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.”

A judicial adviser in the French interior ministry Sabrine Balim told the UNHRC that France “condemns any form of racial profiling” and said that the use of force by the police was “strictly supervised, controlled,” and penalized in the event that it was unwarranted.

During Labor Day, the protests against French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms have continued all over the country. The reform would increase the retirement age to 64 from 62. The legislation would also require people to work 43 years to receive a full pension apart from other changes.

Macron has maintained that the reform is necessary for the country but has since been met with criticism regarding the change. Unions have said that while they respect the French Constitutional Council’s decision on passing the pension reform legislation as law, they still plan on protesting to get Macron to withdraw the reform.