Student activists demand amnesty for arrested demonstrators

Student activists are calling for amnesty for those arrested during recent protests, arguing that minors have been treated repressively. They claim that many of those detained were not even students from the schools affected by the demonstrations.

Arrest figures and government response

According to the Chancellery, the central administration of the Ministry of Justice, 7,950 arrests have been reported, with 85% of those arrested being minors. The Ministry of the Interior stated these arrests were in response to "urban violence" near hundreds of schools.

Petition gains support from various groups

A petition calling for the amnesty of students was launched on the left-wing online platform Le Média and has gathered nearly 52,500 signatures. It has been co-signed by political parties, trade unions, artists, academics, and members of civil society, including Ilies Djaouti, a lawyer and founder of the Alerte Racisme association.

Legal context of amnesty in France

Amnesty retroactively cancels an offense and its conviction, as if it had never occurred. Until 2007, this was mainly granted through the collective presidential pardon on July 14, but this practice has since been abolished. Currently, the President of the Republic can grant pardons only individually and under specific conditions.

Legal professionals demand amnesty

On October 23, 238 lawyers published an article in L'Humanité demanding amnesty for all students and those convicted for participating in the demonstrations. They denounced the violent repression of the social movement and criticized the conditions of arrest, trials, and detentions.

Lawyers highlight scale of arrests

Romane Bartoli, a lawyer at the Paris bar and member of the Collective for Judicial Action, emphasized the unprecedented scale of arrests, estimating nearly 10,000 since the movement began. She stated that the government is unlikely to meet such demands, as they will be obtained through the balance of power in the streets.

Dialogue efforts fail to address amnesty demand

Attempts at dialogue between the student movement and the government have taken place, but the amnesty demand has not been addressed. Ryad Rani, president of the Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL), mentioned that meetings with government representatives have not yielded responses to the amnesty request.

Event planned to focus on arrests and repression

To focus on the issue of arrests without conflating it with other school-related demands, the Coordination Régionale Étudiante d'Île-de-France is organizing an event on the Grands Moulins campus at the Paris-Cité university, including an association village and a march to the Santé prison.

Event aims to highlight justice and rights

Ariane Anemoyannis, spokesperson for the youth collective Le Poing Levé, stated that the event aims to highlight demands for justice for the repressed, the right to demonstrate, and amnesty for those arrested in the context of the movement. She added that the repression aims to intimidate youth and dissuade mobilization, emphasizing the need for unity to continue the movement.