Tag: EMmanuel Macron

  • EU parliament urges Indian PM Modi to protect minorities

    EU parliament urges Indian PM Modi to protect minorities

    On Thursday, the European Parliament urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to end ethnic violence in Manipur, and to do more to protect ethnic and religious minorities in India. Modi is currently on an official visit to France, having been invited to attend the country’s annual Bastille Day national festival as a guest of honour. 

    However, between the ceremony and the diplomatic courting, EU parliamentarians in Strasbourg approved a motion that urged India to end violence in the country’s northeastern Manipur state, and to protect the minorities there. 

    The motion also criticised the ‘national rhetoric’ of the local state government, run by Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). EU parliamentarian Pierre Larrouturou released a statement on his Twitter, with an accompanying video.

    In his tweet, Larrouturou stated that Modi and Macron can “pretend that everything is going well in India”,however, the EU parliament is recalling facts, and strongly condemns the human rights violations that take place in India.

    “Every day in India, thousands of Muslims, Christians, and members of ethnic minorities see their rights repressed,” the statement read. “To remain silent on the situation would have been a humiliation for all those who fight for their fights and suffer every day from the Hindu nationalism imposed by the Modi government.”

    In May, CNN reported how residents of Manipur say there has been a breakdown of law and order. This was after a spell of violence that left at least 58 dead and tens of thousands more homeless.

    In a speech to the public, Larrouturou went on to point out, “In Manipur, for the past two months, we have seen monstrous violence. Over 120 people have died and 1700 homes have been devastated, 250 churches have been destroyed, 40,000 people have fled for their lives.”

    Despite differences over the war in Ukraine, namely India’s continued support to Russia, as well as tensions over human rights violations in the country, Western democracies are courting Modi and what is currently the world’s most populous country, as a counterweight to China’s influence in Asia.

    India is also one of the largest global buyers of French arms. On Thursday, India approved in principle the purchase of 26 French marine Rafale jets and three Scorpene-class submarines, news agency ANI reported. 

    During Modi’s last visit to Paris in 2015, he announced a landmark deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets worth around €4 billion ($4.48 billion).

  • ‘Unless we get substantial relief how can the world expect from us to stand on our own feet? It is simply impossible’: PM Shehbaz

    ‘Unless we get substantial relief how can the world expect from us to stand on our own feet? It is simply impossible’: PM Shehbaz

    In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif highlighted the damage caused by floods and urged that the world to pay more attention to the crisis.

    The premier said, “What the world has done is commendable but it is far from meeting our needs. We can’t do it alone”. He stressed that flood losses are estimated to be at $30 billion.

    “Unless the world comes up with billions of dollars for relief, rehabilitation, for building resilient infrastructure, things will not come back to normal. And I need to put the economy back on track and put millions of people back in their homes,” he told Bloomberg.

    “Unless we get substantial relief, how can the world expect us to stand on our own feet”, he asked. “It is simply impossible. The world has to stand by us”.

    He reiterated that although Pakistan contributes very little to carbon emission, the country is among the top ten most vulnerable countries to climate change, adding that around 1,500 people had died in the situation.

    Talking about the economic situation of the country, he said that Pakistan recently signed a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under “very tough” conditions, including taxes on petroleum and electricity.

    He went on to say that several world leaders had talked about the devastation in Pakistan.

    Recalling his meetings with the world leaders, he said that he is “very grateful” to United States (US) President Joe Biden for speaking about Pakistan’s plight. He added that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and France’s Emmanuel Macron had also done the same.

    The premier was of the view that such action from the world shows the intentions and sincerity of global leaders. While saying that, he added that “But I think it should come very fast because time is running out and we are racing against time”.

  • French President Macron gets elected again

    French President Macron gets elected again

    French President Emmanuel Macron won the presidential race again and became the first French President to have won a second term in office in the two decades on Sunday.

    Macron defeated his far-right rival Marine Le Pen of National Rally party. This is her third defeat in a presidential poll.

    According to interior ministry, Macron managed to secure 58.6 per cent of votes while Le Pen received 41.1 per cent votes. The result marks the closest the far-right has ever come to taking power in France and has left the nation divided as Macron’s victory against his far-right rival was narrower than their last face-off in 2017, when the margin was 66.1 per cent to 33.9 per cent, reports Al Jazeera.

    However, while addressing the nation after his victory, Macron vowed to heal rifts in a deeply divided country.

    The 44-year-old president will now have to face the challenge of parliamentary elections in June, where keeping a majority will be critical to ensuring he can realise his ambitions.

    Le Pen hailed her result as a “brilliant victory” and vowed to keep up the fight with parliamentary elections in June.

    Final figures from Sunday’s vote are due today (Monday).

  • France orders shutdown of mosque for inciting hatred against Jews and homosexuals

    The government of France has decided to shut down a mosque located in the north of a country, Beauvais on Tuesday as the Imam was allegedly inciting hatred and violence.

    Government officials claim that the sermon was based on violence against non-Muslims and sexual minorities and provoking Jihad.

    The Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin took the decision to close down the mosque because the Imam “is targeting Christians, homosexuals, and Jews” in his sermons. The minister said that it is totally unacceptable to incite such hatred among people.

    Local authorities were legally bound to observe 10 days of information gathering before taking action. However, the closure of the mosque will be scheduled within two days.

    It was reported by the local newspaper that the imam recently converted to Islam this month.

    The lawyer for the association managing the mosque, Samim Bolaky filed the case to overturn the banning of the mosque which would be heard by a court within 48 hours.

    The association claimed that the Imam occasionally preached in the mosque. The suspension of the Imam and closure of the worship place was made due to his regular presence, according to the official document citing the reasons for the shutdown.

    According to the official document, the Imam allegedly called for the war against enemies of Islam and allegedly glorified heroes who protected religion against Western influencers. He also labelled non-Muslims as enemies of Islam.

    The document said, “The terrorist threat remains at a very high level” and the closure had “the aim of forestalling acts of terrorism being committed.”

    Earlier this year, France President, Emmanuel Macron announced a crackdown on religious extremism after a teacher, Samuel Paty was killed because of alleged blasphemy. He pledged that he would not compromise on the secular values of the country.

  • Will boycotting French products make a difference?

    Will boycotting French products make a difference?

    French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent controversial statements about Islam and his stance regarding the continued publication of blasphemous caricatures of The Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) served as a source of bitter disappointment for the Muslim community worldwide. Citizens of several Muslim countries publicly called for an official boycott of French products to demonstrate their opposition against Macron’s insensitive actions. Pakistanis are no different.

    While every Muslim country is contributing a unique weightage of resistance, here are five interesting facts about #BoycottFrenchProducts’ increased momentum which may motivate us to appreciate and self-assess ourselves as Pakistanis:

    1. Pakistani Market accounts for 0.08% of France’s exports only

    While the attempt to boycott a country’s products to get our disapproval across is plausible, unfortunately, this protest in the Pakistani context is merely symbolic. The power to ‘actually’ influence world politics cannot be achieved without economic stability. We do not want to sound like Donald Trump here but, for the sake of national integrity, the Ministry of Finance and our Industrial Sector needs to really “do more”.

    2. Sephora has been accused of racially discriminating against Asians

    Many Facebook groups are asking women in Pakistan to boycott the international giant makeup retailer, Sephora and not to order makeup from the popular chain. Sephora was founded by a French entrepreneur, Dominique Mandonnaud, and has its headquarters based in Paris, France. In 2014, customers filed a lawsuit against the retailer for engagement in racial discrimination against Asians.

    3. Divide and rule?

    Not long ago, to condemn Macron’s derogatory remarks about Islam, Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted that President’s comments seem “to deliberately provoke Muslims, including own [France’s] citizens” to which a French minister responded by telling Khan to stay out of France’s domestic affairs. On 3rd November, renowned French news media outlets like France24 released a news piece titled, “Several French Muslim leaders on Monday condemned calls for boycotts of French goods in Muslim countries as unjustified and accused those leading the charge of using Islam for political gain”. The statement has been released on behalf of the leaders of the Great Mosques of Paris, Lyon and the French Mediterranean island of Reunion and three main Muslim groups of the country. The sole purpose of this boycott is to protect the sentiments of a ‘unified’ Muslim community throughout the world; however, French media says otherwise. Divide and rule?

    4. LU is not French

    Netizens, leave LU out of this! While social media posts calling out for the boycott of LU biscuits went viral, a BBC report verified that our very Pakistani Continental biscuits Limited (CBL) is in fact a joint venture with an American company called Mondelez. LU was initially registered under a French trademark but was bought by the American Company a while later. So, let bygones be bygones.

    4. Taking a stand

    Pakistanis have never shied away from risking anything to stand with their fellow Muslims worldwide. An interesting example of this can be our ever-favorite apparel brand. Back in 2011, Gul Ahmed received an award from the French Ambassador Daniel Jouanneau for being the largest exporter to France in Home Textile category. Despite reporting an annual loss of 625 million due to Covid-19 induced lockdown in the fiscal year of 2019-2020, Gul Ahmad did not condemn the boycott. The company seems to have risked its financial position in case France decides to reciprocate the ban due to the deteriorating relations between the two countries. Putting communal interests over business is a commendable gesture indeed.   

  • Tennis star Aisam to peacefully protest Macron’s blasphemy stance at Paris Masters tournament

    Tennis star Aisam to peacefully protest Macron’s blasphemy stance at Paris Masters tournament

    Pakistani tennis star Aisam ul Haq announced to protest peacefully in this week’s Paris Masters Tennis tournament against Macron on blasphemy by wearing a white band through the tournament.

    According to the reports Aisam delivered this message and urged famous athletes to participate in this peaceful protest wearing a white arm band. He also shared a video message on his social media accounts.

    Qureshi said: “The most important and valuable lesson I have learnt as an athlete and a tennis player is to respect all religions,cultures,faiths and beliefs.

    He further said, “Freedom of speech does not and should not mean freedom to antagonise anyone and disrespect someone’s religion.”

    “I will be wearing a white armband all this week at Paris Masters as a peaceful protest against the French president who, sadly and disappointingly, is endorsing and encouraging this kind of behavior where people are allowed to disrespect the religion of Islam and make fun of our Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), he said.

    Qureshi concluded with a request, “I urge not just Muslim athletes but athletes all over the world – who respect other religions – to show solidarity and unity by wearing a white armband and raise awareness that we, as human beings and athletes, can’t accept disrespect and mocking of other religions.”

    Aisam will be in action on Wednesday in the first round of the tournament’s mixed doubles event alongside world number 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.

    The Pak-Greek duo will face Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski of Great Britain on Wednesday which is today.

  • Anti-France protests continue, as Macron seeks understanding

    Anti-France protests continue, as Macron seeks understanding

    Hundreds of protesters in Pakistan on Sunday burned effigies of France’s leader and chanted anti-French slogans, as President Emmanuel Macron tried to send a message of understanding to Muslims around the world.

    Smaller demonstrations in Lebanon, Turkey and India followed on anti-France protests across the Muslim world last week that were mostly led by Islamist groups, reported AP news agency.

    The renewed protests came after President Macron’s interview late Saturday in which he said that he understood the shock Muslims felt at caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Macron was speaking with the Qatar-based Arabic TV station Al-Jazeera, where he also defended freedoms of expression and France’s secular values.

    Macron’s office said the interview was aimed at clarifying misunderstandings around France’s position and the president’s words which they say have been taken out of context.

    “I have never said that,” Macron told the Al-Jazeera interviewer, explaining that some false translations of his words in the media showed him to support the cartoons mocking Prophet Muhammad. “Those are lies.”

    Macron explained that all religions are subject to the freedom of expression and “these drawings.”

    “I understand and respect that people can be shocked by these cartoons,” he said. “But I will never accept that someone can justify the use of physical violence because of these cartoons. And I will always defend freedom of speech in my country, of thought, of drawing.”

    The interview set off a storm on social media, as many argued the Qatari station erred by giving space to the French President, whom they said failed to apologize for offending Muslims. Some criticized Macron for choosing Al-Jazeera, a station that has been at the center of political disputes between Arab Gulf nations and Turkey and viewed by many as giving airtime to hardliners and Islamist groups, outlawed in many countries in the Middle East.

    But for others, Macron’s appearance on Al-Jazeera was hailed as a success of the protest and boycott campaigns, which have forced the French president to address Muslims through an Arabic-speaking channel.

    The protests in Muslim-majority nations over the last week, and calls for boycotts of French products, began initially after Macron eulogized a French teacher in Paris who was decapitated for showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class. Two attacks followed on a group of worshippers in a church in Nice, and a Greek priest in Lyon.

    Islamist groups and hardliners around the Muslim world have rallied their supporters against the caricatures and the French government’s staunch secularist stance, keeping up protests over the last week targeting Macron.

    On Sunday in the Pakistani city of Karachi, hundreds of supporters of the main Islamist party, Jaamat-e-Islami, set an effigy of Macron on fire. The crowd of about 500 chanted against Macron and called for the boycott of French products.

    The crowd, which was smaller in number after larger rallies over the past days, marched toward the French Consulate in the city while security cordoned off the area.

    Earlier Sunday in Karachi, Shiite students marched for three kilometers (1.8 miles) chanting and pledging to sacrifice their lives for the honor of Islam and its prophet. Some 500 students, including a couple hundred women, dragged French flags on the floor and carried pictures of Macron. One banner depicted Marcon’s face with a big cross.

    “We condemn blasphemy of Islam and Prophet Muhammad by French President,” read a slogan scribbled on a French flag.

    The well-organized crowd wearing face masks were chanting praise for Prophet Muhammad.

    In central Pakistani city of Multan, hundreds of merchants rallied in a demonstration to call for a boycott of French products. The crowd also burned an effigy of Macron and chanted: “Muslims cannot tolerate blasphemy of their prophet” and “the civilized world should give proof of being civilized.”

    In Lebanon’s capital of Beirut, a dozen protesters marched to the French Embassy in the Lebanese capital, raising banners that read: “Anything but Prophet Muhammad,” and chanted in defense of Islam. Security was tight around the embassy.

    In Ahmedabad, a city in India’s Gujarat state, protesters pasted photographs of Macron onto streets overnight, leaving them for pedestrians and passing vehicles to go over on Sunday.

    Anti-France protests were held by Muslim groups on Friday in Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital, and Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh state.

    Islamist groups on Sunday also held a rally in Istanbul.

    There has been tension between France and Turkey after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan questioned his French counterpart’s mental condition while criticizing Macron’s attitude toward Islam and Muslims.

  • ‘Stay out of our domestic affairs,’ French minister tells Pakistan and Turkey

    Turkey and Pakistan should not meddle in France’s domestic affairs, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has said after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan denounced French President Emmanuel Macron’s “anti-Islam” agenda and called for a boycott of French goods.

    The comments from Erdogan and Imran were the latest expression of anger in the Muslim world over blasphemous images being displayed in France of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).

    Erdogan, in his statement, also questioned Macron’s mental health, prompting Paris to recall its ambassador in Ankara.

    Joining Erdogan, Imran also denounced Macron’s remarks on the publication of caricatures, calling them “encouragement of Islamophobia”.

    “By attacking Islam, clearly without having any understanding of it, President Macron has attacked and hurt the sentiments of millions of Muslims in Europe and across the world,” the premier had said.

    “It should shock each one of us that foreign powers are meddling with what is going on in France,” Darmanin told France Inter radio earlier this week, adding he was referring to Turkey and Pakistan, where parliament passed a resolution urging the government to recall its ambassador from Paris.

    The National Assembly (NA) on Monday unanimously passed a resolution condemning the caricatures and the “resurgence of Islamophobic acts” in some countries.

    “Turkey should not meddle with France’s domestic affairs,” Darmanin added.

    The row has its roots in a knife attack outside a French school on October 16 in which a man of Chechen origin beheaded Samuel Paty, a teacher who had shown pupils blasphemous caricatures of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) in a civics lesson on freedom of speech.

    Macron, who met representatives of France’s Muslim community on Monday, has pledged to fight “Islamist separatism”, saying it was threatening to “take over” some Muslim communities in France.

  • France: Woman beheaded inside church; two others dead, several injured

    France: Woman beheaded inside church; two others dead, several injured

    A knifeman on Thursday beheaded a woman besides killing two others and injuring dozens of worshippers in an attack inside a church in Nice on the Côte d’Azur — the Mediterranean coast of southeastern France.

    According to reports, the killings happened at 9 am inside the Notre-Dame basilica in the city centre. There were unconfirmed reports in the French media that at least one of the victims had been beheaded.

    Police described the scene as a “vision of horror”.

    The attacker was shot and injured by police and was taken to hospital.

    READ: France urges Muslims to stop boycott of French products over blasphemous cartoons

    The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, said the attacker had repeated “Allahu Akbar” several times while he was being arrested and handcuffed by police.

    He said a woman victim had been decapitated but he had no details of how the two others were killed.

    The attack comes less than two weeks after history teacher Samuel Paty, 47, was beheaded outside his high school after showing his class blasphemous caricatures, including one of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during a discussion on free speech.

    READ: Blasphemy protests: Qureshi wants non-existent Pakistani envoy back from France

    Police confirmed that three people had died in the attack.

    France’s anti-terrorist prosecutor has been brought in to investigate charges of “killing linked to a terrorist organisation”.

    President Emmanuel Macron is heading to Nice.

  • Hamza Ali Abbasi, Ahsan Khan condemn blasphemous content in France

    Hamza Ali Abbasi, Ahsan Khan condemn blasphemous content in France

    Alif co-stars Hamza Ali Abbasi and Ahsan Khan have condemned blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), which have been republished by the Charlie Hebdo magazine in France.

    In a tweet, Hamza said: “It is your right to disagree and criticise but it is not your right to mock with the intent to deliberately insult and provoke.”

    He continued: “The only way we Muslims can make the world understand that is solely by peace and dialogue not murder, war and hostility.”

    Drawing comparisons, the actor further said: “What if Muslims organise a contest of throwing cow meat on a Ram statue? Or who can slaughter the most pigs in a synagogue or who can spit on a cross with the most accuracy. It’s evil.”

    Ahsan Khan also had similar views. Voicing his protest against France for its actions, the actor said: “If France is indeed a republic, then there should be liberty there, not insults upon another’s religion.”

    Other celebrities including Feroze Khan and Shoaib Akhtar also expressed their disgust at the French President’s remarks.

    On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron had tweeted, “We will not give in, ever to Islamic radicals.”

    “We do not accept hate speech and defend reasonable debate,” the French leader added.

    Calls to boycott French goods are already growing in the Arab world and beyond after Macron criticised Islamists and vowed not to “give up cartoons” depicting the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

    Macron’s initial comments, on Wednesday, had come in response to the beheading of a teacher, Samuel Paty, outside his school in a suburb outside Paris earlier this month, after he had shown the blasphemous cartoons during a class he was leading on free speech.

    With the French president pledging to fight “Islamist separatism”, which he said was threatening to take control in some Muslim communities around France, hashtags such as the #BoycottFrenchProducts in English and the Arabic #ExceptGodsMessenger trended across countries, including Pakistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Palestine, Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.