Iran: French police must show self-restraint in dealing with peaceful protests

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has criticized the French police's heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful protests across the capital Paris, which followed an earlier armed attack in the city.

The ministry's spokesman, Nasser Kan'ani, made the remark in a late Saturday statement in which he condemned the violent and racist attack that left a number of people dead in the French capital. 

“There are three dead, one person in intensive care and two people with serious injuries, and the suspect, who was arrested, has also been injured, notably to the face,” a French prosecutor told reporters in Paris at the scene of the incident on Friday.

The attacker, a 69-year-old man, who has admitted to be a racist and who has carried out previous attacks on migrants in France, also carried out the shooting attack on a Kurdish cultural center in the French capital. He opened indiscriminate fire at a restaurant facing the Kurdish center and the adjacent hair salon as well.

According to the authorities, he had recently been freed from detention while awaiting trial for a saber attack on a migrant camp in Paris a year ago.

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"The Islamic Republic is greatly concerned about the risk to lives of people, especially Muslims, minorities, and migrants," Kan'ani said.

The Iranian diplomat then urged the French law enforcement forces to exercise self-restraint while dealing with peaceful protesters. He also condoled with the families of the attack's victims.

Kan'ani emphasized that the French government has a political background of adopting discriminatory policies towards minorities and migrants, and its track records are marred with many cases of violent treatment of protesters.

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Between November 2018 and January 2019, at least 12 people died during the French security forces' crackdown on the Yellow Vest protests against living and economic conditions across the European country.

The Iranian spokesman then noted that "impartial investigations into the Paris incident could shed light on its various aspects."

On Saturday, Clashes broke out for a second day between the French police and Kurdish protesters angry at the killing of three members of their community by the gunman.

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said there had been a sudden violent turn in the protest, but it was not yet clear why.

Speaking on news channel BFM TV, Nunez said a few dozen protesters were responsible for the violence, adding there had been 11 arrests and around 30 minor injuries.

Hundreds of Kurdish protesters, joined by politicians including the mayor of Paris' 10th district, waved flags and listened to tributes to the victims.

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