Azerbaijan's Parliament: Events in France - indicator of deep political, governance crisis

The Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan has expressed deep concern over the mass protests and unrest in France in September-October 2026, police violence against children and peaceful demonstrators, cases of serious injury, mass detentions, and serious problems with ensuring public security, Report informs.

"The protests that began in France on the grounds of dissatisfaction with the condition of the education system, the rising living costs and social problems acquired a broader geographic scope, spreading across various cities of the country on October 17. It follows from official data that as many as 550,000 people took part in demonstrations that day. The unrest, fires and looting in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and other cities demonstrate the serious difficulties that Emmanuel Macron's regime faces inasmuch maintenance of public order and the security of citizens is concerned;

The particularly outrageous reports are about minors having been subjected to police violence. Serious concerns are caused by the reported use of batons, tear gas, rubber bullets, and special explosive devices against schoolchildren, and of physical violence against children. It is especially appalling and shocking that police violence has left a 15-year-old teenager without an arm in Lanns and a 17-year-old girl with the sight lost in one eye in Mulhouse. The protection of children's life and health is the immediate duty of the state, whilst no need to ensure public order can in any event justify the disproportionate use of force against them. These acts of violence should be investigated in an independent and transparent manner;

The detainment of thousands of people including minors in the course of the mass protests, the restriction of the freedom of movement imposed on peaceful demonstrators and the prohibition of assemblies in individual towns all give rise to serious concerns regarding the provision of the freedom of peaceful assembly and the principle of proportionality. Approximately 2,400 people were detained in connection with the events of October 17 alone. Ensuring that citizens have their right of peaceful protest is pursuant to the international obligations of the French State, and it is inadmissible to impair this right," the Parliament noted.

"There are grave problems with public order provisions and protection of the fundamental rights in the overseas territories of France as well. Curfew was imposed in several locations following the unrest, fires and assaults upon trading facilities in Guadeloupe on the night of October 17-18. As regards New Caledonia, the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights of France stated in January 2026 that the fundamental rights of the Kanak population had deteriorated, that discrimination had deepened and that there were numerous accounts of excessive use of force by law enforcement agencies in recent years. All those circumstances are indicative of the serious problems that the dictatorship of Macron's regime faces in the area of ensuring the rights and security of people living in the overseas territories, in particular representatives of the indigenous peoples;

The Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan considers that the developments current in France are not random violations of public order but are an indicator of a deep political and governance crisis of the Government as well as of the failure of the policy it pursues in the area of responding to social discontent and ensuring the security of citizens. Macron's regime, on the one hand, was unable to protect peaceful demonstrators, including children, from disproportionate police intervention, and on the other hand, it failed to defend citizens and their property from violence during the unrest. One cannot ignore the issue of political responsibility for the occurrences. It is entirely evident that the French State, the dictatorship of Macron's regime, those who try to lecture the world on human rights, democracy and values, are experiencing a deep political and governance crisis;

The Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan urges France to prevent the use of disproportionate force against children and peaceful demonstrators, to investigate thoroughly those incidents which have resulted in grave injuries, to bring to account judicially those responsible, to protect the rights of the detainees and, especially, of the detained minors, and to respect the freedom of citizens' peaceful assembly;

In particular, the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan strongly deplores both that such institutions as the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, stricken with corruption and moral decay, would blink at the disgrace taking place in France and the selective approach to the issue of human rights and double standards;

The police violence cases that have occurred in France give rise to serious doubt as to whether the national investigative and judicial bodies of the country will look into them without bias, impartially and fairly. In this connection, we are calling on international organisations in general and on the UN Human Rights Council in particular to form an independent international inquiry commission for a comprehensive examination of the cases of use of force and violation of human rights involving peaceful demonstrators, including minors;

The Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan also urges the Parliament of France, international parliamentary organisations and human rights institutions to adopt a principled stance with regard to those occurrences, to support an independent international inquest and to demand of the Macron regime compliance with its international commitments regarding human rights," reads the statement.