Iran condemned this Friday what it called “the repression of demonstrations” in France, the day after a new day of protests against the pension reform, marked by violent incidents and hundreds of arrests. More than 450 people were arrested and “441 police and gendarmes” injured Thursday, announced the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, during this day marked by the most serious violence since the beginning of the movement in January.
“We strongly condemn the repression of the peaceful demonstrations of the French people”, reacted the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in a tweet written in French. “We call on the French government to respect human rights and refrain from using force against the people of their country who are peacefully pursuing their claims,” added Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Earlier in the day, his spokesperson, Nasser Kanani, called on the French government to “speak to his people and listen to their voice”.
“Those who sow the wind reap the storm”
“We do not support destruction or riots, but we do maintain that instead of creating chaos in other countries, you should listen to the voice of your people and avoid using violence against them,” he said. he wrote on Twitter. The spokesperson was referring to the criticisms expressed abroad, including by France, of the repression in Iran during the demonstrations which followed the death in custody, on September 16, of Mahsa Amini, arrested for violating the strict dress code imposed on women in the Islamic Republic.
Several hundred people including dozens of members of the security forces were killed and thousands more arrested during these demonstrations, described by the Iranian authorities as “riots” fomented by Israel and Western countries. The European Union, like the United States and the United Kingdom, have imposed several series of sanctions against Tehran for the repression of protest, led in particular by women.
“Those who sow the wind reap the storm”, asserted Nasser Kanani: “This kind of violence contradicts giving others moral lessons”. French President Emmanuel Macron, behind this reform which plans to raise the retirement age to 64, and the government remain inflexible in the face of the demonstrators. The challenge has experienced a resurgence since the adoption of the reform via 49.3, a controversial article of the French Constitution which made it possible to force the text through the National Assembly.