Human Rights Watch says Macron must focus on making human rights a priority in his second term

Non-Government organisation, Human Rights Watch wants President Emmanuel Macron to prioritise Human Rights in his domestic and foreign policy, following his recent re-election victory.

Scoring 58.5 percent of the votes, Macron defeated Marine Le Pen who received 41.46 percent in the runoff 2022 presidential election.

HRW notes that 28 percent of eligible voters did not vote while the far right secured the highest percentage of votes ever in any national or local french election.

Bénédicte Jeannerod, France director at Human Rights Watch says the surge of far right support “makes it even more imperative for Macron to counter xenophobia, discrimination, and intolerance in France”.

Human Rights Watch says Macron “failed to live up to his promises” and has “damaged France’s credibility”.

France has been criticized for its discriminatory police checks and abusive treatment of migrants and asylum seekers.

The country’s counterterrorism laws have also come under fire as they showed “scant regard for their disproportionate restrictions on human rights, including on freedoms of speech, assembly, association, and religion”.

On an international scale, Human Rights Watch says while France’s leadership role in response to Russian forces in Ukraine plays to its credit, it has also continued arm sales to Saudi and made arms deal with United Arab Emirates “despite repeated alleged war crimes against civilians in Yemen”.

“Macron gave Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest award, even though Sisi oversees the worst repression in Egypt’s modern history,” HRW adds.