India Condemns “Personal Attacks” On Emmanuel Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron, flanked by French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer, speaks to the press following a stabbing attack in the Conflans-Sainte-Honorine suburb of Paris, France on October 16, 2020
India has strongly condemned the personal attacks against French President Emmanuel Macron after his tough stance on radical Islam, calling it “a violation of the most basic standards of international discourse”.
In a strongly-worded statement, the Foreign Ministry also condemned the brutal terrorist attack that killed a French teacher, and said “there is no justification for terrorism for any reason or under any circumstance”.
“We strongly deplore the personal attacks in unacceptable language on President Emmanuel Macron in violation of the most basic standards of international discourse,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
“We also condemn the brutal terrorist attack that took the life of a French teacher in a gruesome manner that has shocked the world. We offer our condolences to his family and the people of France,” it said.
After the statement, French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain thanked India, saying both countries can count on each other in the fight against terrorism. “Thank you @MEAIndia. France and India can always count on each other in the fight against terrorism,” he tweeted.
Macron has been facing criticism from various Muslim-majority countries after he took a tough stand on radical Islam and defended cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The French President said that Islam was a religion in “crisis”.
His comments came in the backdrop of the beheading of French teacher Samuel Paty on October 16 outside Paris in broad daylight. Paty had shown caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad to his students.
