TEHRAN – There is an Iranian proverb saying, “Which one should I believe, your Hazrat Abbas oath or the tail of the rooster?” It describes a situation where someone tries to hide the truth when it is glaringly obvious.

The recent measures by the French government regarding restrictions on social media platforms during the country’s unrest evoked this proverb. 

Recently, France has been racked by a wave of unrest that highlighted social cleavages and societal divisions, and of course, the French government’s contradictions. The unrest broke out over police brutality that resulted in the killing of a young citizen of Algerian descent. 

After the unrest subsided, French President Emmanuel Macron met with the mayors of towns affected by the unrest in France. In the meeting, Macron made a statement that caught many advocates for freedom of speech off guard. He raised the idea of banning social media platforms in times of riots. “We need to have a think about social media, about the bans we need to put in place,” he said, according to Le Monde. “And when things get out of hand, we may need to put ourselves in a position to regulate or cut them off.”

“We need to think about the use of these networks by the youth ... and about the bans that need to be put in place. And I say this very clearly, because they change the way young people relate to reality,” Macron said at the gathering at the Elysée Palace with some 250 mayors of cities targeted during the riots.

“And [we need to think about] the decisions we make, including administrative decisions, when things get out of hand, so that at some point we can say we're in a position to regulate or cut them off. It's important not to do it in the heat of the moment, and I'm glad we didn't have to, but it's a real debate we need to have when things cool down.”

The idea immediately resonated with other French officials, with Jean-Noël Barrot, minister delegate in charge of the Digital Transition, contributing to the discussions on the need to pass a bill allowing the government to put in temporary restrictions on social media platforms. In a Senate debate on the bill to “secure the digital environment,” Barrot said, “The president of the Republic himself said earlier that we must not take measures that are too harsh in the heat of the moment that we may regret later, but we need to start thinking about this. I propose that we engage in this reflection together [as part of the discussions on the digital bill] so that by September we can find the wording that will suit us.”

Marcon’s idea raised concerns among observers about French authoritarianism. Critics said the French president’s intention to put restrictions on social media may turn France into another authoritarian regime. Fatima Ouassak, co-founder of the Front de Mères (Mother’s Front) collective representing parents in the working-class banlieues, said the move is a distraction. “It’s a diversion tactic. Instead of debating the issue of police violence … we are diverting to the responsibility of the social media networks and parents,” Ouassak told BFM television, according to the Guardian. “It’s secondary and about the authorities avoiding their responsibility.”

Also, some compared Macron’s idea with his positions toward Iran during the country’s September 2022 unrest that erupted in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini. At that time, Macron harshly criticized Iran and described the unrest as a “revolution.” He went so far as to meet the “leaders” of this perceived revolution. 

Also, other Western countries, particularly the United State fulminated against Iran for cutting off access to some social media platforms, which Iranian officials said were used to train rioters how to commit acts of sabotage against public and government properties. In the midst of the unrest when Iranian security forces were facing violence from rioters, the U.S. government even moved to send satellite internet devices into Iran.

In addition, the West slapped several batches of sanctions against Iran over alleged crackdown on protests. 

The unrest in France, however, was a reminder that France and other Western countries cannot take the Hazrat Abbas oath while their rooster’s tail is all that obvious.