Statement made by the Spokesperson of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (30 June 2023)

France has learned of the statement by the Spokesperson of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of 30 June 2023. Any accusation of systemic racism or discrimination by the police in France is totally groundless. The latest Universal Periodic Review to which our country submitted itself allowed us to demonstrate this.

In France the police are subjected to a level of internal, external and judicial control that few countries experience. France and its police fight resolutely against racism and all forms of discrimination. There can be no doubt about this commitment.

The police deal with situations and actions of extreme violence with great professionalism and work to uphold French people’s right to enjoy public spaces peacefully, including to express their opinions freely in them, as our democratic institutions allow. The use of force by the national police and gendarmerie is governed by the principles of absolute necessity and proportionality, and is strictly regulated and controlled. Two hundred and forty-nine police officers have been injured in the violence of recent days.