Submitted 29 June 2017

SubmissionbyCIVICUS:WorldAllianceforCitizenParticipation,NGOinGeneralConsultativeStatuswithECOSOC

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

CIVICUS UPR Lead Cathal Gilbert, Email:

cathal.gilbert@civicus.org Ms Renate Bloem, Email: renate.bloem@civicus.org

Tel: +41 22 733 3435 Web: www.civicus.org

France

Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review

29th Session of the UPR Working Group

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1. (A) Introduction

1.1 CIVICUS isaglobalallianceofcivil societyorganisationsandactivistsdedicated tostrengtheningcitizenactionandcivilsocietyaroundtheworld.Foundedin1993,weproudly promotemarginalised voices, especially from the Global South, and havemembersinmorethan180countriesthroughouttheworld.

1.2 Inthisdocument,CIVICUSexaminestheGovernmentofFrance’scompliancewithits

international human rights obligations to create andmaintain a safe and enablingenvironment for civil society. Specifically, we analyze France’s fulfillment of therights to freedomof association, assembly, and expression since its previousUPRexamination in 2013. To this end, we assess France’s implementation ofrecommendations received during the 2nd UPR cycle relating to these issues andprovideanumberofspecific,action-orientatedfollow-uprecommendations.

1.3 Duringthe2ndUPRcycle,theGovernmentofFrancereceivedtworecommendations

relating to the freedomofexpressionandopinion.Of theserecommendations,onewas accepted and one was noted. An evaluation of a range of legal sources andhuman rights documentation addressed in subsequent sections of this submissiondemonstratethattheGovernmentofFrancehasnotimplementedoneoftheseandhasonlypartiallyadheredtothesecond.WhilethegovernmentofFrancehasfacedaseriousterroristthreatduringtheperiodunderreview,measuresostensiblytakentoprotecttheFrenchpublicfromattackhavehadfar-reachingconsequencesfortheexercise of the fundamental freedoms of association, peaceful assembly andexpressionbylaw-abidingcitizens.

1.4 CIVICUS is deeply concerned by the negative consequences for civil society of

France’s decision to repeatedly extend its state of emergency, which has grantedexpanded powers of arrest, detention and surveillance to security forces withoutadequate judicial oversight and without due regard for ensuring that measurestaken to restrict fundamental freedoms are proportionate to the threat posed bythosetargeted.

• In Section 2, CIVICUS examines France’s implementation of UPR

recommendations and compliance with international human rights standardsconcerningfreedomofassociation.

• In Section 3, CIVICUS examine France’s implementation of UPRrecommendations and compliance with international human rights standardsconcerning freedom of expression, independence of the media and access toinformation.

• In Section 4, CIVICUS examine France’s implementation of UPRrecommendations and compliance with international human rights standardsrelatedtofreedomofassembly.

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• In Section 5, CIVICUS makes a number of recommendations to address theconcernslisted.

2. (B) Freedom of association 2.1 While theFrench constitution containsno article expresslyprotecting the right to

freedom of association, Article 2 of the Declaration of Human and Civic Rights of1789 states that the “aim of every political association is the preservation of thenatural and imprescriptible rights of Man”. 1 A 1971 decision of the ConseilConstitutionnel confirmed that freedom of association is one of “the fundamentalprinciplesrecognisedunderthelawsoftheRepublic”andthat,assuch,“associationsmay be freely established and may be rendered public subject to the solerequirementofthelodgingofpriornotice”.2Thepreambleofthe1946constitutionalsoreferstotherighttojointradeunions.3Moreover,article22oftheInternationalCovenantonCivilandPoliticalRights(ICCPR),towhichFranceisastateparty,alsoguaranteesfreedomofassociation.

2.2 ThelegalframeworkgoverningfreedomofassociationinFranceisguidedbyLoidu

1erjuillet1901(onassociations)andLoi87-571du23juillet1987(onfoundations).These lawsgenerallyprovideanenablingenvironment forcivil society tooperate.An association can be formed by just two people and without any mandatoryregistrationrequirements,whilestepstoobtainlegalpersonalityareuncomplicatedand inexpensive. The 1901 law prohibits organisations with purposes which are“illegal, contrary to the law, to morality or whose purpose is to go against theterritorialintegrityortherepublicanformoftheGovernment…”4

2.3 Despite this generally enabling legal framework, conditions for civil society

organisationshaveworsenedsincetheimpositionofastateofemergencyinFrancefollowingaseriesofterroristattacksoverthepasttwoyears.AstateofemergencywasimposedinNovember2015and,atthetimeofwriting,hasbeenextendeduntilat least 1 November 2017, following a decision by France’s new president,EmmanuelMacron,inMay2017.5Underthestateofemergency,theauthoritiesare

1EnglishlanguagetextoftheConstitutionofFrance1958(revised2008)andtheDeclarationonHumanandCivicRights1789availablefromtheConstituteproject:https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/France_2008?lang=en.2Decisionno.71-44DCof16July1971,LawcompletingtheprovisionsofArticles5and7oftheLawof1July1901onassociationagreements,Availableat:http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/english/case-law/sample-of-decisions-in-relevant-areas-dc/decision/decision-no-71-44-dc-of-16-july-1971.135366.html3Seethis2006analysisofassociationlawsinWesternEuropefromICNL:http://www.icnl.org/research/library/files/France/framework.pdf4Gerard,Thomas,“AreportonNGOLawsinFrance”,25thMarch,1998,providedbyICNL:http://www.icnl.org/research/library/files/France/reporter.pdf5‘EnFrance,Rallongepourl’etatd’urgence’,Liberation,24thMay,2017:http://www.liberation.fr/france/2017/05/24/en-france-rallonge-pour-l-etat-d-urgence_1572058

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grantedexpandedpowers includingcontrolling themovementofsuspectsclose totheirresidence(so-called“assignedresidence”orders),conductingsearcheswithoutthenormaljudicialoversightandshuttingdownmeetingplaces.6

2.4 During theUnitedNationsCOP21 climate conference inParis inNovember2015,

theseemergencymeasureswereusedtoimpose“assignedresidence”orderson26climate change activists who were associated with “far left” groups. The ordersrequired them to stay at homeandprevented them fromattending the importantclimatechangemeeting.Researchbyinternationalcivilsocietygroupsassertedthatthese activists had no prior history of violent or destructive activism, and thegovernmentitselflaterconfirmedthattheactiviststhemselvesdidnotposeadirectthreat to national security.7These orderswere a clear violation of the freedomofassociation as civil society activists were caught up in France’s security dragnetimposedintheimmediateaftermathofterroristattacksinParisearlierthatmonth.

2.5 Also in November 2015, a mosque in a Paris suburb, which is also the offices of

communitygrouptheAssociationofMuslimsofAubervilliers(AMA),wasraidedbypolice. AMA member Sofiènne Karroumi posted photos on social media of thedestruction caused to theirofficesbypoliceduring the search, includingdamagedcomputers, overturned furniture and holes punched in the ceiling.8The House ofAMAPresidentChihebHararwasalsoraidedbyupto60policeandhewas takenintocustodydespitetheabsenceofanyevidencelinkinghimorAMAtoterrorism.9

2.6 InJune2017,FrenchcivilsocietyorganisationsdecriedreportedplansbyFrance’s

government to enshrine these extensive powers, which allowed the above-mentioned abuses to take place, into ordinary (non-emergency) laws. Leadinghuman rights organisation Ligue des droits de l’homme said that, if passed, thesenew powers “would trample individual and collective freedoms” and lead Francetowardsauthoritarianism.10

6AparliamentarycommissionreportfromFebruary2017ontheimplementationofthestateofemergencyshowedhowtheexerciseofthesepowershasreducedovertime.See‘Communicationd’étapesurlecontrôledel’étatd’urgence-RéuniondelacommissiondesLoisdumercredi22février2017’:http://www2.assemblee-nationale.fr/static/14/lois/communication_2017_02_22.pdf7‘Upturnedlives–thedisproportionateimpactofFrance’sstateofemergency’–AmnestyInternational,February2016,pages18-19.https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur21/3364/2016/en/8‘LocalsupsetafterpoliceraidParissuburbmosque’,TheObservers,18thNovember2015:http://observers.france24.com/en/20151118-police-raid-paris-suburb-mosque-aubervilliers9‘France:abusesunderstateofemergency’,HumanRightsWatch,3rdFebruary,2016:https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/02/03/france-abuses-under-state-emergency10‘PRÉSIDENTDELARÉPUBLIQUEETGOUVERNEMENT:COCKTAILÀRISQUESPOURLESLIBERTÉS?’,Liguedesdroitsdel’homme,7thJune,2017:http://www.ldh-france.org/president-republique-gouvernement-cocktail-risques-les-libertes/(QuotationtranslatedfromFrench).

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3. (C) Freedom of expression, independence of the media and access to information 3.1 Underthe2ndUPRcycle,thegovernmentreceivedtworecommendationsrelatingto

freedom of expression and access to information. The government of Francewasurgedtoreconsiderboththebansonstudentswearingreligioussymbols inpublicschools and on full-face concealment in public spaces to ensure expression offreedomofreligionorbelief.Francewasalsocalledupontopreventany initiativecontrary to General Comment 34 of the Committee of Human Rights, relatedspecificallytoArticle19oftheICCPRonfreedomsofexpressionandopinion.11Ofthe recommendations received, one was accepted and one noted. However, asdiscussed below, the government did not take effective measures to implementtheserecommendations.Ofthetworecommendationspertainingtotheseissues,thegovernmenthasnotimplementedthefirst,bycontinuingitsbanonfull-faceveilsinpublic,andhasonlypartiallysucceededinimplementingthesecond.

3.2 Article19oftheICCPRguaranteestherighttofreedomofexpressionandopinion.Article11ofFrance’sDeclarationofHumanandCivicRightsprovidesthatthe“freecommunicationof ideasandofopinions isoneof themostpreciousrightsofman.Anycitizenmaythereforespeak,writeandpublishfreely”12,withalimitednumberofexceptionstothisrulebeingestablishedintheLoidu29juillet1881surlalibertédelapresse.13Theseprotectionshavehoweverbeenseriouslyunderminedinrecentyears through a combination of restrictions related to religious expression,surveillance overreach, a terrorist attack on a newspaper and expanded powersunderthestateofemergency.

3.3 In November 2014 France took steps to tighten anti-terrorism measures, evenbeforeawaveofdeadlyterroristattackshitthecountry.LOI2014-1353 imposedasentence of five years and a €75,000 fine for directly provoking or publiclycondoning terrorism, or seven years in jail and a €100,000 fine if that is doneonline. 14 Further sweeping powers granted to authorities in the aftermath ofterroristattacksin2015,byvirtueofLOI2015-912,of24July,201515,allowFrenchsecurity services to conduct surveillance of private citizens’ phone and internetcommunicationswithouttheneedforacourtorder.Thefurtherexpansionofthese

11CCPR/C/GC/34,paragraph5oftheopinionisparticularlyrelevanttothesituationinFranceatpresent“Takingaccountofthespecifictermsofarticle19,paragraph1,aswellastherelationshipofopinionandthought(article18),areservationtoparagraph1wouldbeincompatiblewiththeobjectandpurposeoftheCovenant…Freedomofopinionisonesuchelement,sinceitcanneverbecomenecessarytoderogatefromitduringastateofemergency’http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/GC34.pdf12EnglishtranslationoftheDeclarationavailablefromtheConstituteProjecthere:https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/France_2008?lang=en13Loidu29juillet1881surlalibertédelapresse,asamended:https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000877119#LEGIARTI00000641970814LOIn°2014-1353du13novembre2014renforçantlesdispositionsrelativesàlaluttecontreleterrorisme,https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000029754374&categorieLien=id15LOIn°2015-912du24juillet2015relativeaurenseignement

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powersinNovember2015raisedtheconcernsoffiveUNSpecialRapporteursabout“excessive and disproportionate restrictions on fundamental freedoms” caused byFrance’slawonelectroniccommunicationsandsurveillance.16

3.4 Inaddition,Loi2016-731,adoptedon3June201617,opensthedoortoprosecutionsagainst people who visit websites deemed to be inciting or glorifying terrorism,unless thosewebsitesare consulted “ingood faith, for researchpurposesorotherprofessional reasons with the aim of informing the general public.”18The vaguewordingofthelawallowsforpeopletobeprosecutedforlegitimateexerciseoftheirfreedomofexpression.

3.5 In practice, while French people are largely free to voice their opinions and the

media is uncensored, concentratedmedia ownership by big business undermineseditorialindependence,whiletheauthoritieshavesometimesrestrictedtheworkofjournalistscoveringeventsinthepublicinterest,suchasthe2006labourstrikesorthedismantlementofthe‘Jungle’refugeesettlementinCalais.19

3.6 Theuseoflegalproceedingstocompelmediahousestoreleasetheirsources,orto

institute libelclaims, isalsoofcontinuingconcern inFrance,ashighlightedby the2017 targeting ofMediapartby National Front Leader Marine Le Pen20. France’stough defamation and privacy laws have also been criticised for their negativeimpactonpressfreedom.21Losingalibelcaseagainstapublicofficialcanresultinafine of up to four times the amount imposed for losing a case against a privatecitizen; a feature of French law which has been criticised for creating a “chillingeffect”onthescrutinyofpublicofficials,includingelectedleaders.

3.7 France also continues to impose an outright ban on wearing of full-face veils inpublic.Theban,whichhastheeffectofcriminalisingthewearingofreligiousdressincluding theburqaorniqab,hasalreadyseen thousandsofMuslimwomen fined,with no evidence that it has succeeded in healing social divisions.22The ban has

16UNrightsexpertsurgeFrancetoprotectfundamentalfreedomswhilecounteringterrorism,19thJanuary,2016,http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16966&LangID=E17LOIn°2016-731du3juin2016renforçantlaluttecontrelecrimeorganisé,leterrorismeetleurfinancement,etaméliorantl'efficacitéetlesgarantiesdelaprocédurepénale:https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000032627231&categorieLien=id18AmnestyInternational’sannualreportforFrance2016/17:https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/france/report-france/19WorldPressFreedomIndex,2017,ReportersWithoutBorders,FranceCountryPage:https://rsf.org/en/france20France:Legalproceedingsthreatennewswebsite’sfreedomtoinform,ReportersWithoutBorders,1stJune2017:https://rsf.org/en/news/france-legal-proceedings-threaten-news-websites-freedom-inform21France:Strictdefamationandprivacylawslimitfreeexpression,IREX,19thAugust,2013,https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/08/france-faces-restrictions-on-free-expression/22Fiveyearsintoban,burqadividewidensinFrance,DW,10thApril,2016:http://www.dw.com/en/five-years-into-ban-burqa-divide-widens-in-france/a-19177275

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been repeatedly criticised by French and international human rights groups as aviolationoftherighttofreedomofexpressionandreligiousfreedom.

4. (D) Freedom of peaceful assembly

4.1 While there are no explicit references to the freedom of peaceful assembly inFrance’s constitution, the 1789 Declaration on the Rights of Man and the Citizendoes contain several clauses on basic human freedomswhich, by inference, grantprotection to citizens when demonstrating peacefully in public.23France also hasseveral commitments under international law relating to the freedom of peacefulassembly:Article21oftheICCPR,Article11ofthetheEuropeanConventionfortheProtection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Article 12 of theCharterofFundamentalRightsoftheEuropeanUnion.

4.2 Article L211-1 of theCodede la sécurité intérieure provides that all assemblies inpublicplacesaresubjecttopriornotification24whileArticle431-9oftheCodePénalimposes a possible six-month custodial sentence or a €7,500 fine for peoplewhoorganise an unlawful public assembly.25 This provision is in contravention ofinternational law and best practice on the management of peaceful publicassemblies, including recent expert guidance from two UN Special Rapporteurs ,which states that excessive penalties can have a “chilling effect” on the right tofreedomofpeacefulassembly.26

4.3 Under existing laws either police prefectures or local mayors have the power toalloworpreventpeacefulprotests fromtakingplace..SinceNovember2015, thesepowershavebeensignificantlyexpandedthroughtheapplicationofFrance’sstateofemergency law, specifically Article 8 ofLoi55-385du3avril1955relativeà l'étatd'urgencewhichallowsforproteststobepreventedonvaguegroundsincludingthatthe gathering is likely to “provoke or encourage disorder”.27 This wording isproblematic and runs contrary to recent UN Special Rapporteur guidance whichstatesthatsuchrestrictionsmustbe“sufficientlyprecisetoenableanindividualto

23DeclarationontheRightsofManandtheCitizen1789,Articles4,5,10and11:http://www.legislationline.org/topics/country/30/topic/1524Frenchtextofthecodeisavailablehere:https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do;jsessionid=739984452B2ECA8507922DDB723FCEA4.tpdila14v_2?idSectionTA=LEGISCTA000025508382&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000025503132&dateTexte=2017011225RelevantarticlefromtheCodePénalisavailablehere:https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle.do?idArticle=LEGIARTI000006418472&cidTexte=LEGITEXT00000607071926JointreportoftheSpecialRapporteurontherightstofreedomofpeacefulassemblyandofassociationandtheSpecialRapporteuronextrajudicial,summaryorarbitraryexecutionsonthepropermanagementofassemblies,4February2016,A/HRC/31/66,SeeParagraph48.http://freeassembly.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/A.HRC_.31.66_E_with_addendum.pdf27Fulltextofthe1955emergencylaw(asamendedin2016)isavailablehere:https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000695350

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assesswhether ornot his orher conductwouldbe inbreachof the law, and alsoforeseethelikelyconsequencesofanysuchbreach.”28

4.4 A fact findingmission in 2016 by the International Federation forHumanRights(FIDH) concluded that because of the imposition of the state of emergency, the“frameworkapplicabletotheorganisationofprotestsanddemonstrationshasthusshifted from a system of notification to one of authorisation. This situationincreasestheriskofviolationsoftherighttodemonstrate.”29

4.5 RecentresearchshowsthattheinvocationoftheseemergencyrulessinceNovember

2015 ishavinga realanddetrimental impactupon theabilityofFrenchpeople toassemble peacefully in public. In May 2017, international human rights groupsreported that, over the previous 18months, local authorities in Francemade 155ordersbanningdemonstrationsfromtakingplace.Theseordersweremadethroughexpanded powers given to police and local authorities as part of the state of theemergencywhichcontinuesinforcetodayinFrance.30

4.6 ConcernshavealsobeenraisedaboutpoliceuseofforceduringprotestsinFranceinrecentyears.SinceFrance’slastUPRreview,therehasbeenaconsistentpatternofreports about police use of disproportionate force against protestors includingduring labourprotests in201631;anti-racismdemonstrations in201332;and,mostseriously,inOctober2014whenecologistRémiFraissewaskilledafterpolicethrewaflashgrenadeintoacrowdofdemonstratorsopposingtheconstructionofadaminSivens.33Research undertaken by French human rights groupACATbetween June2014 and December 2015 revealed that these incidents are not isolated,documentingnumerouscasesofseriousinjurytoprotestorsduringthisperiod.34

4.7 Further concerns have recently been raised by French civil society organisations

when, in February 2017, the French parliament adopted a new law on public

28Seenote13,Paragraph30.GuidancefromUNSRshereisbaseduponEuropeanCourtofHumanRightscasesin1999and2010.29‘Whentheexceptionbecomesthenorm–Counter-terrorismmeasures&humanrights,Aninternationalfact-findingmissionreport’,FIDH,June2016,seepage20:https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/report_counter_terrorism_measures_human_rights.pdf30‘Arightnotathreat:DisproportionaterestrictionsondemonstrationsunderthestateofemergencyinFrance’,AmnestyInternational,31stMay,2017:https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur21/6104/2017/en/31‘Frenchpolicewatchdoglooksintoviolenceduringlabourprotests’,TheGuardian,7thJune,2016:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/07/french-police-violence-labour-law-protests-watchdog32‘France:Policebrutality,notburkas,thesourceoftension’,AlJazeera,24thJuly,2013:http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/07/2013724132229777442.html33‘Cequel’onsaitsurelemortdeRémiFraisse’,Liberation,28thOctober,2014:http://www.liberation.fr/societe/2014/10/28/ce-que-l-on-sait-sur-la-mort-de-remi-fraisse_113142834‘L’OrdreetlaForce’,ACAT,seepages17-18.https://gallery.mailchimp.com/ecc3a0462fe2da1f694571804/files/R_VP_INT_BLEU_web_pp.pdf

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security – Loi 2017-258 du28 février 2017relative à la sécurité publique35- whichwas signed into law by the President François Hollande later that month. InFebruary 2017, the Commission National Consultative des Droits de l’Homme(CNCDH),astatutorybodydevotedtotheindependentpromotionofhumanrightsinFrance,releasedanopinionseverelycriticisingthenewlaw.CNCDHhighlightedthe alarming expansion of justifications for the use of force by police whenmaintainingpublicsecurityandcriticisedtheincreasedpenaltiesfor“contempt”ofpoliceandthelaw’spotentialtoincreasetensionsbetweenthepoliceandcitizens.36

5. (E) Recommendations to the Government of France

CIVICUScallsontheGovernmentofFrancetocreateandmaintain,inlawandinpractice, anenablingenvironment for civil society, inaccordancewith therightsenshrinedintheICCPR,theUNDeclarationonHumanRightsDefendersandHumanRightsCouncilresolutions22/6,27/5and27/31.At a minimum, the following conditions should be guaranteed: freedom ofassociation,freedomofexpression,freedomofpeacefulassembly,therighttooperate free from unwarranted state interference, the right to communicateand cooperate, the right to seek and secure funding and the state’s duty toprotect.Inlightofthis,thefollowingspecificrecommendationsaremade:

5.1 Regardingfreedomofassociation

• Take measures to foster a safe, respectful, enabling environment for civilsociety, including through removing legal and policy measures, whichunwarrantedlylimittherighttoassociation.

• Endunwarrantedraidsoncivilsocietygroupsandunjustifiabledisruptionsto

legitimate, conferences, seminars and other activities organized by CSOsshouldbestopped.

• Specifically, France’s state of emergency should be suspended as soon as

possibleand,should therebe justifiablecause for itsreinstatement in future,theauthoritiesshouldensurethatpowersareexercisedasfaraspossiblewithprior judicial oversight and that legitimate, peaceful activist groups are nottargetedaspartofanti-terroristoperations.

35Fulltextofthenewlaw(inFrench)isavailablehere:https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000034104023&categorieLien=id36‘Laloisurlasécuritépublique"inacceptable"’,LeFigaro,http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2017/02/23/97001-20170223FILWWW00325-la-loi-sur-la-securite-publique-inacceptable.php

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5.2 Regardingfreedomofexpression,independenceofthemediaandaccesstoinformation

• Ensure freedom of expression and media freedom by all, bringing national

legislationintolinewithinternationalstandards.

• ReviewLOI2014-1353andLoi2016-731inordertoensurethatanti-terrorismmeasures, and specifically punishments for speech related to terrorism, areproportionate and that adequate safeguards are built in to ensure thatlegitimate expression, online or offline, is not censored as a result of theselaws.

• Revisit LOI 2015-912 to ensure that surveillance powers are subjected to

adequate judicial oversight and that the rights to freedomof expression andinformation of French citizens are not eroded by the untrammelledinterceptionoftheirprivatecommunications.

• Ensure that journalistshave theability toprotect their sources, and that the

legal system is not abused by powerful public officials to target journaliststhroughdrawnoutandexpensivelegalproceedings.

• Reform defamation legislation in conformity with article 19 of the

InternationalCovenantonCivilandPoliticalRights(ICCPR).

• Ensure that journalists are protected from attack when covering events inpublicplaces,includingduringprotests.

5.3 Regardingfreedomofassembly

• France should review its laws on protest to bring them into line with theguidance issued by UN Special Rapporteurs in their report on the propermanagementofprotests,4February2016,A/HRC/31/66.

• ReviewArticle431-9oftheCodePénalwithaviewtoreducingtheseverityofcustodial and financial penalties imposed on the organisers of assembliesdeemedunlawful.

• Immediatelyreconsidertheprolongedextensionofthestateofemergency inorder to reduce or remove additional barriers to the right to freedom ofpeacefulassembly.

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• Whilethestateofemergencyisstillinforce,ensurethatallPolicePrefecturesandotherlocalauthoritiesdonotabusetheirexpandedpowersbypreventingrequestsforlegitimateandpeacefulproteststobeheld.

• Review the Loi 55-385 with a view to removing vague grounds for thepreventionofprotestsduringstatesofemergency.

• RevisitLoi2017-258 to ensure that adequate safeguards are put in place fortheuseoflethalforcebypolicewhenconductingpublicorderoperations.

• All demonstrators, journalists and human rights defenders detained for

exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly should beunconditionallyand immediatelyreleased.Theircasesshouldbereviewedtopreventfurtherharassment.

• Allinstancesofextra-judicialkillingandexcessiveforcecommittedbysecurity

forceswhilemonitoringprotests anddemonstrations shouldbe immediatelyandimpartiallyinvestigated,andperpetratorsheldtoaccount.

• Reviewand ifnecessaryupdateexistinghumanrights training forpoliceandsecurity forces with the assistance of independent nongovernmentalorganizations to foster more consistent application of international humanrights standards, including the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force andFirearms.

• Senior government officials should publically condemn the use of excessiveand brutal force by security forces in the dispersal of protests. A formalinvestigationintosuchinstancesshouldbelaunched,andperpetratorsshouldbebroughttojustice.

5.4 RegardingaccesstoUNSpecialProceduresmandateholders• TheGovernmentshouldprioritizeofficialvisitswiththeSpecialRapporteuron

thepromotionandprotectionoftherighttofreedomofopinionandexpression;and the Special Rapporteur onthe rights tofreedomof peaceful assemblyandofassociation.

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Annex 1. UPR of France (2nd Cycle – 15th session) - Thematic list ofrecommendationspertainingtocivicspaceRecommendation Position Fulllistofthemes Assessment/commentsonlevel

ofimplementation

Theme:D42Freedomofthought,conscienceandreligion

120.29Reconsiderboththebansonstudentswearingostentatious,religioussymbolsinpublicschoolsandonfull-faceconcealmentinpublicspacestoensureexpressionoffreedomofreligionorbelief(Thailand);

Sourceofposition:A/HRC/23/3/Add.1-Para.12

Noted D42Freedomofthought,conscienceandreligion

A41Constitutionalandlegislativeframework

S16SDG16-peace,justiceandstronginstitutions

Affectedpersons:

-minorities/racial,ethnic,linguistic,religiousordescent-basedgroups

Status:Notimplemented

Source:seeparagraph3.7.

Theme:A23Follow-uptotreatybodies

120.51PreventanyinitiativecontrarytoGeneralComment34oftheCommitteeofHumanRights(Turkey);

Sourceofposition:A/HRC/23/3/Add.1-Para.10

Supported A23Follow-uptotreatybodiesD1Civil&politicalrights-generalmeasuresofimplementationA42Institutions&policies-GeneralAffectedpersons:-general

Status:PartiallyImplemented.

Source:seeparagraphs3.2-3.7.