French President Emmanuel Macron has criticized accusations that his government has turned in a regressive direction over a new law on police protection and its crackdown on Islamist groups.
In an interview with the internet portal Brut, Macron responded to international media’s labeling of these moves as “anti-liberal”: “Today the situation is not satisfactory, but forgive me, that doesn’t make us an authoritarian state.”
“We are not Hungary, not Turkey or anything like that,” he said.
Protests against the new policy escalated in France after a video surfaced of police officers beating a black man in his own music studio.
Macron called the police officers’ behavior unacceptable, but said it did not mean all police were inherently violent and racist.
Society has also become more violent, Macron stressed, and police officers have also been injured in clashes, including in Paris.
“A policewoman was beaten up by protesters there. If you don’t look at society as a whole, you’re not being fair,” Macron explained. (msch/tm/rtr)
“France was attacked for defending freedom of expression,” Macron said. “We were very lonely.”
by Basit Abbasi