PARIS: France urged its citizens Tuesday to be cautious and avoid mass gatherings in countries that have announced boycotts of French products in a fast-spreading protest against perceived anti-Muslim bias from Paris. Tens of thousands marched Tuesday in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka, while in Syria protesters have burnt pictures of Macron and in Libya they torched French flags. “In several countries in recent days, there have been calls for a boycott of French products, particularly foodstuff, and more generally calls to protest against France,” the French foreign ministry said on its website. In the aftermath of teacher Samuel Paty’s murder, Macron vowed the country “will not give up cartoons”. Earlier this month, Macron had unveiled a plan to defend France’s secular values against a trend of “Islamist separatism”, and described Islam as a religion “in crisis”.

Source: Libya Today October 28, 2020 00:00 UTC