The mobilization against the pension reform has given rise to "
115 referrals
" to the Defender of Rights since the start of the demonstrations on January 19 "
and in the vast majority over the last three weeks or the last month
", indicated the institution. this Monday.
Rights Defender Claire Hédon shared "
her fears
" about the large number of complaints relating to the ethics of the security forces in the demonstrations, during a press conference in Paris organized for the publication of the institution's annual report. .
“
The testimonies and images that reach us suggest that rights have been flouted,
” commented Ms. Hédon, head of the institution responsible for exercising independent and external control over the police and gendarmes.
“
Respect for the freedom to demonstrate and the freedom of association must absolutely be respected, I am frankly concerned in this regard about a climate which contributes to weakening the democratic structure
”, she continued.
Impartial and contradictory investigations
Claire Hédon specifies however that the decisions on these referrals will only be made after “
impartial and contradictory investigations
”.
“
In the investigations that we carry out, we are not simply interested in the individual act, but in the supervision, the hierarchy and also in the training of these people,
” she explained.
Several demonstrators have filed a complaint in France for having been seriously injured by the police, since the start of the mobilization against the pension reform, which began on January 19.
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Left-wing elected officials, trade unions and human rights NGOs have severely criticized the excessive use of force by the police and gendarmes during the mobilization against the pension reform or during the March 25 demonstration against the mega-basins in Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sèvres).
The movement of social anger of the Yellow Vests, from November 17, 2018, had aroused 209 referrals to the independent institution, including 173 for the use of force.
During the mobilization against the Labor Law in 2016, 124 referrals were made, including 113 for the use of force.
