France considers Erdogan’s ‘unacceptable’ statements about Macron

The French presidency considers the statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who questioned the “mental health” of the French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, “unacceptable” because of his attitude towards Muslims.

“President Erdogan’s statements are unacceptable. Outrage and rudeness are not a method. We demand that Erdogan change the course of his policy because it is dangerous from all points of view. Elisha to France Presse, announcing the call for consultations by the French ambassador to Turkey.

“All you can say about a head of state who treats millions of members of different religious communities in this way is that he does mental health checks first,” Erdogan said in a speech broadcast on Saturday.

The French presidency also noted “very offensive statements in recent days” by the Turkish president, “notably on the call for a boycott of French products”.

“France notes, on the other hand, the absence of messages of condolences and support from the Turkish president after the assassination of Samuel Paty,” said Elisha, a week after the beheading of this teacher by an Islamic radical, near the school where he was teaching on the outskirts of Paris and after showing caricatures of Muhammad in a class on freedom of expression.

Two weeks ago, Erdogan had considered Macron’s statements about “Islamist separatism” and the need to “structure Islam” in France a provocation.

In early December, a bill on the fight against “separatisms”, aimed at radical Islam, should be presented. It intends to reinforce secularism and consolidate republican principles in France, containing several points that could provoke tension with Turkey, such as the reinforced control of the financing of mosques or the prohibition of the formation of imams abroad.

This dispute joins a long list of disputes between Macron and his Turkish counterpart.

From the tensions in the eastern Mediterranean to the conflict in Libya, which has seen clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh, there are several issues that currently oppose Paris and Ankara.

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