India Slams ‘Unacceptable’ Personal Attacks On French President Macron

New Delhi: Amid a controversy over French President Emmanuel Macron’s statements on radical Islam, India has condemned the personal attacks on the leader, news agency PTI reported.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “We strongly deplore the personal attacks in unacceptable language on President Emmanuel Macron in violation of the most basic standards of international discourse.

“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 added.

French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain thanked the Foreign Ministry saying both the countries can always count on each other for fighting terrorism. “Thank you @MEAIndia. France and India can always count on each other in the fight against terrorism,” he tweeted.

Thank you @MEAIndia. France and India can always count on each other in the fight against terrorism.https://t.co/oXZ0XpKNSZ pic.twitter.com/iGylUYxUB6

— Emmanuel Lenain (@FranceinIndia) October 28, 2020

Many Muslim-majority countries have criticised Macron after he defended cartoons on Prophet Muhammad and took a strict stand on radical Islam. Macron’s statements came in the aftermath of the beheading of French teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown caricatures of the Prophet to his students, outside Paris on October 16.