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.