Macron Targets Turkey: "Hate Speech Will Not Be Accepted"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] French President Emmanuel Macron stated, "We will never accept hate speech. We will support rational discussion." Macron's remarks have been interpreted as a tough stance amid the escalating conflict with Turkey, raising tensions.

On the 25th (local time), President Macron tweeted, "We respect all differences in the spirit of peace," and added, "We will always stand on the side of human dignity and universal values." He further stated, "We will continue," "Nothing can stop us," and "We will never give up."

Macron's response came amid moves by Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, president of the Islamic country Turkey, who insulted him and called for a boycott of French products in other Islamic cultural regions. Erdo?an criticized Macron's Muslim policies over two days starting the previous day, saying, "He needs psychiatric treatment." On social media in Middle Eastern countries, posts listing French brands and explaining how to identify French products by barcode have been circulating.

This is interpreted as dissatisfaction following Macron's declaration at the national memorial ceremony honoring Samuel Paty (47), a middle school history and geography teacher who was murdered after teaching freedom of expression, that he would not give up religious satire. Earlier this month, Paty showed cartoons from the weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo satirizing the Islamic prophet Muhammad during class to teach freedom of expression, and was killed by an Islamic extremist on the 16th.