France summons Iran's ambassador over alleged disinformation on student protests

France's foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador on Wednesday, 7 October, over what foreign ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux described as an Iranian "disinformation campaign" targeting France's student protest movement. Confavreux said the ambassador was told that "the misleading content disseminated online" by official accounts of the Iranian foreign ministry was "absolutely unacceptable". "These undignified provocations must cease," Confavreux said in a statement.

The summoning came a day after Tehran summoned French Ambassador Pierre Cochard over the treatment of protesters in France. Iran criticised France's "violent treatment" of the protesters and "extensive and flagrant human rights violations" during the demonstrations, according to France 24. The French foreign ministry called the summoning of its ambassador "baseless".

The protests in France intensified last week and have seen clashes between demonstrators and security forces, France 24 reported. Rights groups including Amnesty International have accused French authorities of using disproportionate force against protesters, with police firing tear gas and blast balls and using batons to control crowds.

France 24 reported that Iran's response came after Tehran has faced international condemnation, including from France, for its own crackdown on protesters in recent years, including after the death of Mahsa Amini in 2023. Iranian security forces used deadly force at the start of the year to crack down on anti-government protests that peaked on 8-9 January, according to France 24. Norway-based rights group Iran Human Rights said it has identified 4,219 people killed during the protests, almost all on 8-9 January, and warned the toll is likely far higher.

Rights groups have said thousands were killed, and organisations including Amnesty International have accused Iranian security forces of directly firing on protesters. Amnesty described the Iranian crackdown as the "unprecedented massacres of thousands of protesters and bystanders". Iran says the protests are "riots" and has emphasised the deaths of members of the security forces.