Isolated, Emmanuel Macron?
Not really… After the violent attacks against him by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who recommended “mental health exams” to him this weekend, European leaders united around the French head of state.
The Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte castigated, Monday, October 26, the "unacceptable" words of the Turkish president and recalled his attachment to "freedom of expression".
German Chancellor Angela Merkel denounced Erdogan's "defamatory" statements through the voice of a spokesperson.
For his part, the head of the Italian government Giuseppe Conte tweeted that “personal invectives do not help […] but on the contrary keep solutions away”.
A message written in French.
The remarks addressed by President Erdogan to President Macron are unacceptable.
Personal abuse does not help the positive agenda that the EU wants to pursue with Turkey, but on the contrary pushes solutions away.
Full solidarity with the President @EmmanuelMacron
- Giuseppe Conte (@GiuseppeConteIT) October 26, 2020
A little earlier, the Austrian and Greek authorities had also expressed their support for France.
At the Elysee Palace, this "surge of European solidarity" has not gone unnoticed.
“We are receiving more and more support,” says one adviser.
The French ambassador to Turkey, recalled by Emmanuel Macron, must be received quickly.
At the end of his meeting with the head of state, the presidency will calibrate its response.
It will also concern Erdogan's call to boycott French products.
"Just as in France some say
do not buy Turkish brands
, I am here addressing my Nation: above all, do not pay attention to French brands, do not buy them", launched Monday from Ankara the Turkish president.
This message was relayed in several Muslim countries (Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan…).
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"Too bad if we no longer sell Kiri," quips an ambassador.
I prefer to salute the support movement on Indian social networks, where the hashtag #StandwithFrance is flourishing.
It's a market of 1.3 billion people ”.
In December, the Erdogan case will be examined at the level of the European Council.
"Muslim citizens are not persecuted"
In France, the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM) also flew to the rescue of Emmanuel Macron, accused of Islamophobia by Erdogan after his announcements against Islamist separatism and his defense of freedom of expression about the cartoons of Mahomet during the homage to Samuel Paty.
The CFCM thus urged, on Monday, Muslims in France to "defend the interest" of the country.
"France is a great country, Muslim citizens are not persecuted, they freely build their mosques and freely practice their worship," declared its president, Mohammed Moussaoui.
A support which falls at the peak for the executive, in full offensive against radical Islamism.
VIDEO. Erdogan calls on Macron again to have his mental health examined
Only Jean-Luc Mélenchon made his difference heard.
The leader of rebellious France refused to support the head of state.
“When we were bombed in Syria, when we were threatened in Libya, we told him in all tones that it was time to pose the problem of knowing why we are allied in NATO with someone
[ Erdogan, Editor's note]
who bombs us or threatens us, he did nothing and he did not plan anything, ”he justified himself on France Inter.
Reinforced security measures
In this geopolitical context marked by the wave of protest after the republication of the cartoons of Muhammad, the Ministry of the Interior asked the police to strengthen vigilance measures.
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In a directive of which Le Parisien - Today in France is aware, the director general of the national police Frédéric Veaux alerted, on Sunday, the directions and the central services on the need to "secure the gatherings of people, especially at the 'occasion of Christian religious celebrations of All Saints' Day, but also vis-à-vis Muslim associations and places of worship whose representatives have publicly condemned the terrorist attacks ”.
