Paris (AFP)
President Emmanuel Macron, facing a new controversy with Turkey and a call for a boycott of French products in the Arab world, broadcast Sunday evening several tweets affirming his values, and highlighting in particular his rejection of "hate speech".
"Freedom, we cherish it; equality, we guarantee it; fraternity, we live it with intensity. Nothing will make us back down, ever", writes the head of state, who also tweeted versions in English and in Arabic.
"Our history is that of the struggle against tyrannies and fanaticisms. We will continue," he continues: "We will continue. We respect all differences in a spirit of peace. We never accept hate speech and defend it. reasonable debate. We will continue. We will always stand on the side of human dignity and universal values. "
Emmanuel Macron tweeted a few minutes after the sentence in English "We are ONE", subtitled "we are united".
The phrase "We are one" appears in the song "One", from the group U2, chosen by the family of Samuel Paty during the tribute ceremony, Wednesday at the Sorbonne, to the professor murdered by an Islamist.
France on Sunday called on the governments of the countries concerned to "stop" calls to boycott French products, as well as demonstrations that were launched in the Muslim world after recent remarks by President Emmanuel Macron on Islam, in the context of the tributes to the memory of Samuel Paty.
At the Sorbonne on Wednesday, Mr. Macron had promised that France would continue to defend the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, in the name of freedom of expression.
Rarely, France has also recalled its ambassador to Ankara to Paris, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had publicly expressed doubts about the "mental health" of his French counterpart.
© 2020 AFP