๐ฎ๐ท Iran's Foreign Ministry urged France to "respect fundamental human rights and basic freedoms in its handling of protests," as French police crack down on a nationwide student protest movement.
Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei condemned the violent policing of demonstrators and pointed to a double standard, noting that French officials have condemned Iran's response to unrest as human rights violations. He also urged protesters to avoid violence and property damage.
High school students have been protesting overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages since late September. About 2,000 people have been detained, most of them children, according to French Justice Minister Gรฉrald Darmanin, and at least 170 students have been injured as police used tear gas and batons. "Many are minors, children. They must be protected, not beaten with batons," Amnesty International said.
Pro-Iran accounts have mocked France online, joking that tens of thousands of French protesters have been killed. It's a jab at the unsubstantiated death tolls Western officials claimed after Iran's crackdown on riots and protests in January. President Trump recently increased the cosineโs death toll by another 10,000 Iranians, saying 52,000 โinnocent protestersโ were killed, far above the 7,007 deaths documented by the U.S.-government funded rights group HRANA.