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Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne defends France. “We stand in solidarity with our French friends,” wrote Champagne via her Twitter account, @FP_Champagne, Tuesday (27/10/2020). (Read: Saudi Senior Council of Scholars: Insulting the Prophet Muhammad Only Serves Extremists)
“Turkey’s latest comments about France are completely unacceptable. We must return to respectful diplomatic exchanges. We will always stand together to defend freedom of expression with respect,” the Canadian diplomat continued.
On Monday, Erdogan called on Turks to boycott French products amid bilateral tensions over French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks about Islam which he deemed an insult. (Read: Scan Macron Hina Islam: French Website Hacked, Its Products Boycotted Everywhere)
“Just as they say ‘Don’t buy things with Turkish brands’ in France, I am calling on all my citizens from here to never help French brands or buy them,” Erdogan said.
France is Turkey’s 10th largest source of imports and the seventh largest market for Erdogan’s exports. Among the main French imports, French cars are among the highest selling cars in Turkey.
France’s Minister of Delegation for Foreign Trade and Economic Attraction, Franck Riester, said on Monday that France had no intention of restricting imports of Turkish goods following Erdogan’s calls for a boycott. A number of other Muslim countries have also called for such a boycott. (Also read: Arab Christians Criticize French Insult to Islam)
On Sunday, Paris condemned Ankara’s stern reaction to Macron’s remarks on Islam and recalled its ambassador from Turkey for consultations.
On October 21, Macron delivered a speech at a memorial service French history teacher; Samuel Paty, who was beheaded by a radical Chechen teenager. The president called on his country to “liberate Islam in France from foreign influence and strengthen control over mosque funding”. He stressed that France will continue to defend freedom of expression and increase the battle against radical Islam.
On Saturday, Erdogan said the French president did not respect the millions of French Muslims and “needed mental care”. He added that the manifestation of hostility towards Islam means hostility towards Turkey.
Macron in a statement on Twitter Monday said; “We will never give up. We respect all differences in a spirit of peace. We do not accept words that encourage hatred and defend reasonable debate. We will always stand for human dignity and universal values.”
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