In his defence of freedom after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, the French president outraged both radical and moderate Muslims
Maybe he knew what he was doing. Maybe he didn’t. Either way, Emmanuel Macron set France and Europe on a new collision course with the Islamic world last month – all in the name of freedom. Last week’s spate of lethal terror attacks suggests the French president may have started something he cannot finish.
Macron’s impassioned speech on 2 October, vowing to fight “radical Islamism”, eradicate “separatism” and uphold secular values at all costs, foreshadowed this latest crisis. It was seen at the time as a mainly domestic political exercise, intended to spike the guns of France’s far right before his 2022 election campaign.
By loudly championing French values, Macron managed to outrage mainstream Muslim opinion and, apparently, to energise extremists
On both sides of this argument, lack of respect is a big part of the problem
Related: France will not give in to terror after Nice attack, Macron says
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