Russia said on Wednesday it would not take any lessons from France on protest violence, as it accused Paris of using “repressive tactics” against anti-government demonstrators linked to the Yellow Vest movement. Maria Zakharova, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, warned French President Emmanuel Macron’s government against “lecturing” Russia on its handling of unauthorised protests in light of its own struggle to contain the sometimes-violent yellow vest revolt. Her comments came after France voiced “deep concern” on Monday at bans on anti-corruption demonstrations in Russia, urging Moscow to respect its international commitments on freedom of expression.
“This is the same France where, for nearly a year, heavy fighting has broken out between protesters and police,” Mrs Zakharova said in a Facebook post.
“French authorities have used all sorts of repressive tactics against citizens: tear gas, water cannons and mass arrests,” she said.
Before adding: “The Yellow Vest protests were not authorised and police acted as though protesters were foreign occupiers and not French citizens.”
French authorities have already been accused of a heavy-handed response to the yellow vest crisis, which began in November over fuel tax hikes before snowballing into a revolt against the Macron government, widely perceived as arrogant and indifferent to the working class.
The French protests have been marred by violent clashes and looting, with riot police quashing the unrest with tear gas and rubber bullets, but avoiding physical clashes against large groups.
Dozens of protesters have been injured in the rallies, including some who claim they have lost an eye after being struck with rubber bullets.
The spark for the war of words between France and Russia was the arrest of more than 1,000 people in Moscow last Saturday around a protest to demand that opposition members be allowed to run in a local election.
Demonstrators also called for the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Russian authorities had declared the demonstration illegal and attempted to block participation, but thousands of people ignored their warnings and turned up anyway.
Ahead of Saturday’s rally, police jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny for 30 days and arrested a number of popular politicians who have fought to get on the ballot.
The Kremlin rejected calls earlier this week from the United States and the European Union to free protesters and accused organisers of paying teenagers to attend.
The mass arrests have since been described as one of the biggest crackdowns in recent years against an increasingly bold opposition denouncing President Vladimir Putin’s iron grip on power.
The opposition has called for a new unauthorised protest on Saturday, and more than 13,000 people on Facebook have already expressed interest in taking part.
At well over 60 percent, Mr Putin’s popularity rating is still high, but it is considerably lower than it used to be due to growing frustration over years of falling incomes.
Last year, the former KGB intelligence officer, 66, won a landslide re-election and secured a new six-year term until 2024.