TEHRAN – Iran's Judiciary chief has blasted the Western states for their double-standard approach to police violence against demonstrators in France’s ongoing riots.

“You see the French police behavior towards people; the extent (of images and footages) which are released is enough to easily understand the lies in the West’s claims of respect for the civil rights,” Sadeq Amoli Larijani said, addressing Judiciary officials in Tehran on Monday.

The top judge warned that the protest rallies will spread to other European countries too as they are also facing injustice, expressing the hope that the European leaders would act wisely and based on human values about the demands of their people.

Since November 17, thousands of protesters, wearing yellow vests, have been gathering in major French cities including Paris to protest President Emmanuel Macron's controversial fuel tax hikes and the deteriorating economic situation.

The demonstrators, who generally live in rural areas due to high rents in the cities, have called on Macron to cut fuel taxes and ease their economic difficulties.

According to a recent survey by The Local, 84 percent of the French people, mostly from the middle-income group, support the protests.

Fuel prices in France have risen more than 20 percent this year.

This movement spread to Belgium and the Netherlands in a short time.

French riot police fired tear gas and water cannon in Paris on Saturday, trying to stop tens of thousands of people from converging on the presidential palace to express their anger at high taxes and President Macron. Protesters smashed store windows and set fires around Paris and clashed with police, who fired tear gas and deployed water canon throughout the day in the French capital.

At least 135 people were injured in the protests on Saturday, including 17 police officers, while, throughout France, over 1,700 demonstrators were detained.

A total of 1,723 people were arrested across France during the latest round of "Yellow Vest" protests, in which demonstrators clashed with riot police, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday, adding that of these, 1,220 were ordered held in custody.

A total of 136,000 people demonstrated across France, including more than 10,000 in Paris.

SP/PA