Türkiye hopes to see violence, bloodshed in France end 'as soon as possible': President Erdogan

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye hopes recent events in the wake of last week’s fatal police shooting in France will come to an end "as soon as possible," cutting short the escalating cycle of violence, said the nation’s president on Monday.

"We hope that the recent events, which cause us concern, will come to an end as soon as possible before more blood is shed and the spiral of violence worsens," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.

Erdogan also said that Türkiye is concerned that these events will lead to a "new wave of pressure and intimidation" of immigrants and Muslims.

"The events that began in France and shortly thereafter spread to other countries have their roots in the societal architecture that this mindset has created," he said.

He added: “In countries known for their colonial past, cultural racism has turned into institutional racism."

Protests have shaken France since last Tuesday, when a police officer shot Nahel M., a 17-year-old of Algerian descent, during a traffic check in the Paris suburb of Nanterre after he ignored orders to stop.

French police arrested 157 people overnight in nationwide protests over the police killing, local media reported on Monday.

The officer who shot Nahel faces an official investigation for voluntary homicide and has been placed in preliminary detention.