BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 8. The Baku Initiative Group (BIG) is monitoring with serious concern the ongoing nationwide mobilization of high school students and youth in France, as well as reports regarding severe injuries sustained by protesters, numerous detentions, and the use of dangerous special crowd-control measures.
This was reflected in a statement released by the BIG.
According to the statement, the movement, which began in the city of Créteil and subsequently spread across France, initially emerged against a backdrop of grievances directly related to the right to quality education, specifically, shortages of teachers and other educational staff, the dilapidated state of school infrastructure, excessive academic workloads, and dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the higher education admissions system.
"These grievances later evolved into a nationwide youth movement involving high school and university students, teachers, parents, and trade unions.
The scale of these events demands particular attention. As of October 8, the French Minister of the Interior reported that more than 6,600 individuals had been detained, and 215 students and 89 educational staff members had sustained injuries.
One particularly concerning aspect involves cases where minors sustain severe injuries. In the city of Lens, a 15-year-old student lost his hand as a result of the explosion of a sound grenade used during the protests.
The BIG maintains that the right to education, the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly, and the protection of children and youth from the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force are universal principles that must be upheld without selective application or double standards.
Access to quality education is also a fundamental pillar of the genuine decolonization process. Education enables the elimination of structural inequalities, the preservation of identity, and the establishment of resilient, self-sufficient institutions.
The BIG calls upon the French authorities to ensure that law enforcement measures during demonstrations strictly adhere to the principles of necessity, proportionality, and accountability; to guarantee the rights of minors and youth to peacefully express their views and assemble; to ensure effective investigations into incidents resulting in serious injuries; and to engage in substantive dialogue with students, teachers, and their representative organizations.
France claims to uphold the protection of human rights, democratic freedoms, and human dignity as fundamental principles of its domestic and foreign policy. The consistent application of these principles must begin at home. Human rights cannot be defended selectively, and young people seeking to make their voices heard should be treated primarily as rights-holders rather than as a security issue.
The Baku Initiative Group will continue to closely monitor developments and calls for dialogue, restraint, and full respect for fundamental rights," the statement said.
