CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS Conscientious objectors to military service continued to be punished for refusing to undertake alternative civilian service, which remained punitive and discriminatory in length. The duration of alternative civilian service was 347 days, more than double the shortest military service period of 165 days. FRANCE French Republic Head of state: Emmanuel Macron (replaced François Hollande in May) Head of government: Édouard Philippe (replaced Bernard Cazeneuve in May) The state of emergency, introduced in 2015, was eventually lifted. A new law increased the government’s powers to impose counter-terrorism measures on vague grounds and without full judicial scrutiny. Authorities continued to return Afghan nationals to Afghanistan in violation of the principle of non-refoulement. A new vigilance law imposing obligations on large companies entered into force. COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY In July, Parliament approved the government’s proposal to extend the state of emergency until 1 November and then to end it. It had been in force since the attacks carried out in the capital, Paris, on 13 November 2015. In October, Parliament adopted a governmental bill to introduce new counterterrorism measures into ordinary law. The law increased the powers of the Minister of the Interior and the prefects to impose administrative measures on individuals, in cases where there was not sufficient evidence to open a criminal investigation. The measures included restrictions on freedom of movement, house searches, closure of places of worship, and the establishment of security zones where law enforcement officials were permitted to exercise enhanced stop-and-search powers. 166 The law required prefects to seek a judicial authorization only in respect of searches. The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism had in September expressed concern that the bill included a vague definition of what constituted a threat to national security and had the effect of transposing emergency measures into ordinary law. FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY Prefects continued to resort to emergency measures to restrict the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. In particular, they adopted dozens of measures restricting the freedom of movement of individuals to prevent them from attending public assemblies. Authorities imposed these measures on vague grounds and against individuals with no apparent connection with any terrorism-related offence. Prefects imposed 17 measures to prevent individuals from participating in the public assemblies calling for police accountability after a young man reported he had been raped by a police officer on 2 February. The Paris Prefect of Police imposed 10 measures to prevent protesters from attending the public assembly scheduled for International Workers’ Day on 1 May. On 5 January, a police officer was indicted for firing a sting-ball grenade that blinded protester Laurent Théron in one eye. The trial of the police officer was ongoing at the end of the year. The investigation into the alleged excessive use of force by police against dozens of protesters who had attended the public assemblies organized in 2016 against the reform of labour laws was still ongoing at the end of the year. In March, a new law on the use of force and weapons by law enforcement officials entered into force. The law permitted the use of some weapons, including kinetic impact projectiles, in instances that did not fully comply with international standards. In June, the Constitutional Court ruled that the emergency measure that had allowed Amnesty International Report 2017/18