LDH and student unions call the minister's remark on police "indecent"
Ligue des droits de l'HommeFrench human-rights organization, in a joint statement with the student unions Unef and USL
In a joint statement with two student unions, the LDH says the interior minister refused at an October 29 meeting to acknowledge police violence against young protesters, and calls a remark it attributes to him about the police being hurt by the mutilations indecent.
Responding to
Laurent Nuñez is responsible for serious injuries to protesters because he ordered police to use weapons he knew could mutilate.
“He even went so far as to argue that the first ones hurt by these mutilations would be the police themselves, those who use their weapons. Faced with young people who have lost an eye or been seriously injured, such a statement is indecent. (Translated from French. Original: Il est allé jusqu'à avancer que les premiers meurtris de ces mutilations seraient les forces de l'ordre elles-mêmes, celles qui font usage de leurs armes. Face à des jeunes qui ont perdu un œil ou ont été grièvement touchés, une telle déclaration est indécente.)”
Official statement
Where this statement fits
Lawyers for injured French protesters plan a complaint against Laurent Nuñez over police weapons; Nuñez says force was used within the law
On November 6, 2026, lawyers for at least 18 people seriously injured during France's protests since mid-September said they would file a collective complaint against Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez with the Court of Justice of the Republic, the only court that can try sitting ministers for acts in office. Lawyer Arié Alimi said the complaint targets the orders Nuñez gave to use weapons he knows can mutilate, and that it would be filed within about three weeks; about ten of the injured have agreed to sign it. That evening, Nuñez said he sincerely regretted the injuries but that police and gendarmes always use force within a legal and regulatory framework, that intermediate weapons are indispensable and that he was ready to answer any complaint. On November 9, the LDH and two student unions said the Interior Ministry refuses to acknowledge police violence against young protesters.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
In a joint statement, the LDH and the student unions Unef and USL say the Interior Ministry refused at an October 29 meeting to acknowledge police violence against young protesters, and announce a new referral to UN human-rights bodies.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The groups say that when the Interior Ministry received high-school and student unions on October 29, the minister refused to acknowledge police violence since the start of the movement and maintained that the use of force had always been necessary and proportionate.
After the quotation
The groups announce that they will again refer the situation to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the use of crowd-control weapons such as grenades by French police and gendarmes, under Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez's orders, that seriously injured protesters since mid-September 2026. The LDH and the unions say the minister denies documented police violence, describe the injuries as resembling war wounds and call his remark indecent, which condemns the use of force under scrutiny.
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- People and groups discussed
- Laurent Nuñez
More from this case
Read the full caseNuñez says he regrets the injuries but that police use force "within a legal and regulatory framework"
“I regret that there were these injuries, I truly and very sincerely regret it, but every time police officers or gendarmes use force, it is because they are acting within a legal and regulatory framework (Translated from French. Original: Je regrette qu'il y ait eu ces blessés, je regrette vraiment et très sincèrement, mais chaque fois que les policiers ou gendarmes engagent la force, c'est qu'ils sont dans un cadre légal et réglementaire)”Read statement
Arié Alimi says the complaint must target Nuñez as the person responsible for the mutilations
“We now believe it is imperative to target the person responsible for the mutilations and the massive damage, namely the interior minister, Laurent Nuñez (Translated from French. Original: nous pensons aujourd'hui qu'il est impératif de viser celui qui est à l'origine des mutilations et des dégâts massifs, à savoir le ministre de l'Intérieur Laurent Nuñez)”Read statement
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- LDH and student unions call the minister's remark on police "indecent"
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The Dispute Index. "LDH and student unions call the minister's remark on police "indecent"". First published: 2026-11-09. Last updated: 2026-11-09. https://disputeindex.com/events/8472-in-a-joint-statement-with-two-student-unions