French President Emmanuel Macron published an article in the Financial Times explaining that “France is fighting against Islamic autonomy, never against Islam”, in response to an article published on the British newspaper’s website on Monday, but which has now been withdrawn.
In a lengthy “letter to the publisher” posted on the French presidency’s website, Macron expressed outrage at the article, which he said accused him of stigmatizing French Muslims for electoral purposes, even worse that cultivates a climate of fear and suspicion towards them”.
“I will not allow anyone to claim that France, its state, is cultivating racism against Muslims,” he said, adding that his statements had been misinterpreted.
He spoke of “hundreds of radicalized people, for whom we are afraid that at any moment they will take a knife and kill French people.”
“You do not believe me? Read again the conversations, the calls for hatred that are spread in the name of a deviant Islam on the social networking sites that finally ended in the death of Professor Samuel Patty a few days ago. “Go visit the neighbourhoods where three- or four-year-old girls are wearing hijabs” and “raised with a hatred plan against French values,” said President Macron.
“France intends to fight against this today,” but “never against Islam.” “Against obscurantism, fanaticism, violent extremism. Never against a religion. “We say ‘no to our country!'”, Macron underlined.