Iran called on France on Friday to avoid violence and to “listen” to the demonstrators, the day after a new day of protest against the pension reform, marked by a series of incidents. More than 450 people were arrested and “441 police and gendarmes” injured Thursday, announced the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, during this day marked by the most serious violence since the beginning of the movement in January.
“The French government must speak to its people and listen to their voice”
“The French government must speak to its people and listen to their voice,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said on Twitter. “We do not support destruction or riots, but we maintain that instead of creating chaos in other countries, you should listen to the voice of your people and avoid using violence against them,” he said. he said.
The French government should talk to its people and listen to their voices.
This kind of violence has nothing to do with leaning on the flesh of moral lessons and preaching to others.1/2 pic.twitter.com/W0HWVI79l2
—Nasser Kanaani (@IRIMFA_SPOX) March 24, 2023
Critics following the Mahsa Amini affair
The spokesperson was referring to the criticisms expressed abroad, including by France, of the repression in Iran during the demonstrations which followed the death in custody, on September 16, of Mahsa Amini, arrested for violating the strict dress code imposed on women in the Islamic Republic.
Several hundred people, including dozens of members of the security forces, were killed and thousands more arrested during these demonstrations, described by the Iranian authorities as “riots” fomented by Israel and Western countries. The European Union, like the United States and the United Kingdom, have imposed several series of sanctions against Tehran for the repression of protest, led in particular by women.
“Those who sow the wind reap the storm”
“Those who sow the wind reap the storm”, asserted Nasser Kanani: “This kind of violence contradicts giving others moral lessons”. French President Emmanuel Macron, behind this reform which plans to raise the retirement age to 64, and the government remain inflexible in the face of the demonstrators.
The challenge has experienced a resurgence since the adoption of the reform via 49.3, a controversial article of the French Constitution which made it possible to force the text through the National Assembly.