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- Two days after the deadly terrorist attack on a church in Nice, President Emmanuel Macron defended freedom of expression on an Arab television station.
- Cartoonists are also entitled to this freedom of expression, it has a long tradition in France and is extremely important to the French.
- Macron particularly focused on the behavior of his Turkish counterpart Erdogan.
The French head of state, Emmanuel Macron, has accused Turkey of “warlike behavior” towards the allies of the NATO military alliance. If you are an ally, you have to speak openly, Macron said, according to his office on Saturday, the Al-Jazeera broadcaster.
Refrain from “lies” and “insults”
He was in favor of relaxing relations, but his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had to respect the EU and France and refrain from “lies” and “insults”.
The relationship between Macron and Erdogan has been strained for weeks. In the dispute over the Muhammad cartoons, the Turkish head of state called for a boycott of French products.
Dispute over the publication of cartoons
The background to Erdogan’s appeal was Macron’s statements on freedom of expression and the publication of cartoons. The French satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo” had republished the Muhammad cartoons and thus sparked protests in parts of the Muslim world.
Many Muslims reject a graphic representation of the prophet and find it offensive, but it is not explicitly forbidden in the Qur’an.
“In France the press is free”
Macron said he understood the feelings liberation raised and respected them.
He reiterated his position, expressed on several occasions, according to which cartoons and drawings are protected by freedom of expression. “I have also told many leaders: the press is free in France.”
Fight against terrorists, not against Islam
After three alleged terrorist attacks in recent weeks in which multiple people were killed, Macron said France was fighting terrorism committed in the name of Islam, not Islam itself.
Only on Thursday an attacker brutally murdered three people in the metropolis of Nice, in the south of France, and two victims were found in a church.
