Iran ridicules France for its turmoil

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has condemned France's harsh response to pension reform protests, calling on Paris to respect human rights and avoid using force against its people who are pursuing their demands in a peaceful manner. France has been rocked by protests since President Emmanuel Macron's government bypassed parliament last week to pass a controversial pension reform bill. More than a million demonstrators took to the streets across the country on Thursday, and hundreds were arrested in Paris for lighting fires and clashing with riot police. The Council of Europe condemned the government for using "excessive force" to police the protests, while France's national Consultative Commission on Human Rights claimed that hundreds of demonstrators were arbitrarily arrested and subjected to extreme "kettling" tactics by police. Iran was heavily criticized by Western nations for its handling of anti-government protests late last year.

The French Foreign Ministry has called on Iran to respect the right to peaceful protest and human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani shared a video of French police clubbing demonstrators in Paris, adding that "this kind of violence" contradicts France's "sitting on the chair of morality lessons and preaching to others." Kanaani also shared a video clip of European, Australian and Canadian female ministers in support of French protesting women. Iranian authorities arrested an unknown number of people during last year's protests, although Ayatollah Ali Khamenei granted pardons to more than 22,000 earlier this month. The protests were fomented by the US and Israel, the Iranian government claimed.