QA-17, 30 May 2016

France has been witnessing street demonstrations and strikes since February due to the labour law reform, which is still being discussed at the National Assembly and the Senate, and the incidents are getting increasingly more violent. Naturally, we are closely following these developments.

We believe in the necessity of dialogue in democracies and call upon the French authorities and demonstrators to act in restraint in order to appease the incidents as soon as possible. We are concerned about the interventions of the French security forces, which are gradually becoming harsher against the demonstrators, and call upon the authorities to refrain from the disproportionate use of force against the demonstrators.

We believe that the French authorities will rapidly take all necessary measures in order to return to a tranquil environment and to ensure that the demonstrations are held in a peaceful manner in line with democratic standards.