French President Emmanuel Macron has accused foreign leaders, including US President Donald Trump, of making “stupid” remarks about France’s recent violent protests.
Macron spoke to reporters in Doha on Wednesday during a visit to Qatar. Without naming anyone, he said information had been manipulated after last Saturday’s violence, and as a result many, foreign leaders among them, had made unacceptable and stupid remarks.
Asked whether Trump’s comments were among them, Macron said: “He is among them, among others.”
Campaigning for his Republican Party ahead of the midterm elections, Trump has blamed migrants, “jihadists” and communists for the violence in France.
“Some leaders in this region or across the Atlantic who are campaigning are spreading narratives that certain groups clearly want to spread,” Macron told reporters in Doha.
Macron accused these leaders of using France for their own political campaigns. He said images made with artificial intelligence were circulating that showed things that never happened in France. Some claim that a huge wave of migrants and Islamists has entered France, he said, and that claim is completely false.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the protests in France as an assault by radical Islamists.
France’s presidential election is six months away, and Macron’s government is in fresh crisis. The government has admitted it failed to contain the violence that spread across the country on Saturday.
The protests, which began over the rising cost of living, were largely peaceful at first but quickly turned into widespread violence and looting. The situation was especially severe in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Limoges. In Limoges the town hall was set on fire and part of the building was destroyed.
Police said protests would be banned in several parts of Paris on Thursday, for fear of fresh demonstrations.
The ban runs from 8am to 8pm and covers the Élysée Palace, the president’s official residence, the parliament building and tourist sites such as the Louvre. Several countries have issued travel warnings for France because of the violence.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report