Former UK Minister David Jones strongly criticized the last-minute legal injunction by French authorities that prevented a major National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) rally attended by more than 100,000 people in central Paris. Speaking on the second day of the Free Iran 2026 World Summit, Jones described the decision as an example of tyranny carried out “under the shield of law,” arguing that the sudden restriction revealed the Iranian regime’s growing fear of organized opposition and popular resistance.
Jones emphasized that the move ultimately highlighted the vulnerability of Tehran’s ruling establishment, which he said is increasingly unable to contain demands for freedom and democratic change. He reaffirmed that the Iranian people reject all forms of dictatorship, opposing both the current theocratic system and any attempt to restore the monarchy of the former Shah.
Supporting a democratic future for Iran, Jones endorsed Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan as a comprehensive roadmap based on human rights, gender equality, democratic governance, and the rule of law. He highlighted the importance of what Rajavi has described as the “third option”—a path that rejects both foreign military intervention and policies of appeasement toward Tehran—while emphasizing that lasting change must be achieved by the Iranian people themselves.
Addressing Western governments, Jones stated that years of concessions and engagement policies have failed to bring moderation or meaningful change from the Iranian regime. He called on international parliaments, media organizations, and civil society groups to strengthen cooperation in support of the NCRI, expressing confidence that continued international solidarity would help pave the way for a free and democratic republic in Iran.
The full text of David Jones‘ speech follow:
Madam Rajavi, colleagues, friends, and especially my friends, who by the miracle of technology I can see in huge numbers at the back of this room.
It’s a great pleasure to be here with you again today, but I have to say that pleasure is tinged with a little sadness over the events of yesterday.
More than 100,000 people wanted to assemble in central Paris to demonstrate their support for the NCRI, but were prevented from doing so by a police injunction that was obtained less than 48 hours before that demonstration was due to begin.
That was despite the fact that the NCRI and the French authorities had agreed terms for the holding of the rally many weeks ago, and one can only imagine what might have happened to pause that process so close to the start of the event.
It was very late in the day. So late, in fact, that there was no opportunity at all to obtain an order reversing the injunction.
And I have to say that it does not reflect well on the French authorities, who used legal procedure to frustrate a legitimate march by many thousands of respectable people who simply wanted to show their support for freedom in Iran.
And I believe that the French government should perhaps reflect on the words of the noted French legal philosopher Montesquieu, who said: “There is no tyranny more cruel than that which is perpetrated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.”
So, we will all have been saddened by yesterday’s events. But those events remind us of what we already knew: that the struggle for freedom in Iran will not be an easy one.
But I believe those events also have given us a new impetus to repeat this message to the world: that the people of Iran reject dictatorship in all its forms.
They reject the present religious dictatorship, and they do not want a return to the past of the Shah.
What they seek is a democratic future: an Iran founded on freedom, justice, human rights, equality between men and women, the rule of law, and free elections.
That is their vision, and that is the vision that is embodied in Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan.
But the passion and unity that we witnessed yesterday in Paris, not indeed in one central location but in multiple locations across the city, places a responsibility on all of us who hold positions of public trust.
For far too long, Western governments have pursued a policy of appeasement.
For too long, they have naively hoped that concessions and dialogue would moderate a regime that has consistently demonstrated its contempt for democracy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms.
But bitter experience has shown us that this policy has failed.
And the reality is that the greatest threat to the regime comes not from outside Iran, but from the Iranian people themselves.
Whether those people are gathered on the streets of Tehran or on the streets of Paris, the regime fears the courage of women who refuse to submit—women such as Maryam Rajavi.
It fears the determination of the young people who refuse to surrender their future.
It fears the political prisoners who refuse to abandon their beliefs, and it fears the organized resistance that continues to challenge repression every day, despite enormous personal risk.
And that is why the regime relies on arrests, torture, intimidation, and executions.
That is why it demands weak governments ban demonstrators from marching in the streets of their own capital city.
It governs through the imposition of fear because it lacks genuine legitimacy.
But that is not a sign of strength; it is a display of huge weakness in the face of an Iranian people that refuses to be beaten into submission.
Today, we know that the regime faces profound political, economic, and social challenges, and the desire for change among the Iranian people has never been stronger.
And that’s why I continue to believe that the correct policy is what Madame Rajavi has described as the third option: neither war nor appeasement, but democratic change brought about by the Iranian people themselves.
Now, some argue that Iran’s future lies in restoring the old discredited order: the restoration of the monarchy, the restoration of the Shah. I disagree.
The future of Iran should not be a return to the past.
That future should be decided by the Iranian people themselves.
Progress is rarely achieved in a single dramatic moment. It’s achieved through courage, conviction, and most importantly, persistence.
The struggle for a free Iran requires all three.
And today, each and every one of us has a role to play: through our parliaments, through the media, through civil society, and most importantly, through international cooperation.
We must continue to support the Iranian people’s right to determine their own future.
Because, in truth, the cause that we support, the reason that we’re here today, is not only an Iranian cause; it is the universal cause of the pursuit of liberty against oppression.
And I am absolutely confident that the day will come when the people of Iran are free to choose their own government, free to express their opinions without fear, and free to build the democratic society that they deserve.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Iranian people have most clearly not abandoned their struggle for freedom, and neither should we.