suffered by protesters, and urged reform of law enforcement accountability mechanisms. The European Court of Human Rights opened an investigation into alleged torture and other ill-treatment endured by Laurent Théron, who had lost vision in one eye due to a stun grenade thrown by a police officer in a 2016 protest. In Mayotte, law enforcement officers unlawfully fired live ammunition towards the ground to disperse crowds during protests and unrest at the expulsion of undocumented migrants. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION The Council of State annulled the government’s dissolution of environmental activist group Uprisings of the Earth, citing the need to respect the right to freedom of association. Members of the group had been labelled “eco terrorists” by the interior minister. During a parliamentary hearing in April, after the national Human Rights League had denounced excessive use of force by law enforcement, the interior minister suggested that the group’s funding should be scrutinized. MASS SURVEILLANCE Under the premise of hosting the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, parliament passed a new law authorizing the use by law enforcement of mass video surveillance technology powered by artificial intelligence.1 Following widespread condemnation by civil society over the threat to privacy, non-discrimination and other rights, in November the Constitutional Court ruled unlawful the Ministry of Justice’s expanded surveillance powers enabling remote activation of electronic devices to capture sound and image. It did, however, approve remote activation for geolocation. UNFAIR TRIALS In April, Hassan Diab was convicted in his absence for the 1980 bombing of the Rue Copernic synagogue. The conviction went ahead despite calls from human rights The State of the World’s Human Rights organizations for charges to be dropped on fair trial grounds and due to major irregularities in the decades-long pursuit of Hassan Diab.2 CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT The UN Committee Against Torture again raised concern over France’s refusals and delays in repatriating French national women and children held in prison-like conditions in camps in north-east Syria. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS After initial votes in favour in parliament, the president reaffirmed his support for enshrining “the freedom to access abortion” in the constitution in 2024. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights highlighted the severe inequalities between metropolitan France and “overseas territories”, requesting that France address the “recurring problem of access to water in Mayotte and Guadeloupe”. CHILDREN’S RIGHTS In June, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child raised concerns over the increasing number of children and families living in poverty. RIGHT TO TRUTH, JUSTICE AND REPARATION The Court of Cassation recognized universal jurisdiction in the French justice system in relation to two cases concerning war crimes committed in Syria. In October, parliament adopted a legislative amendment which would partially ease requirements for prosecutions of international crimes such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. RIGHT TO A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT In June, independent advisory body the High Council on Climate reported that France was not making sufficient progress towards its carbon neutrality goal. In October, The Guardian newspaper published a report concluding that French 173