France urges Arab countries to stop boycott calls

By Yusuf Ozcan

PARIS (AA) - France on Sunday urged Arab countries to stop calls for boycott of French products.

“These calls for boycotts and attacks on our country pushed by a radical minority are baseless and must be stopped immediately,” French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll said in a statement.

Earlier, several Arab trade groups announced their boycott of French products in response to statements against Islam and over republication of caricatures insulting Prophet Muhammad.

In recent weeks, French President Emmanuel Macron attacked Islam and the Muslim community, accusing Muslims of "separatism". He described Islam as a “a religion in crisis all over the world".

This coincided with a provocative move by Charlie Hebdo, a left-wing French magazine infamous for publishing anti-Islamic caricatures, which have drawn widespread anger and outrage across the Muslim world.

Last month, the magazine republished caricatures insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad.

The caricatures were first published in 2006 by a Danish newspaper Jylllands Posten, sparking a wave of protests.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar