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French President Emmanuel Macron has accused the US media of “legitimizing” Islamist violence and smearing his country as racist after a series of terrorist attacks that began with the beheading of a schoolteacher in October.
Macron reportedly called New York Times columnist Ben Smith on Thursday to complain about media coverage of France’s latest round of Islamist violence, contrasting reaction around the world to the outpouring of international support for France following the terrorist attacks that killed 130 people in November 2015.
“When I see, in that context, several newspapers which I believe are from countries that share our values – journalists who write in a country that is the heir to the Enlightenment and the French Revolution – when I see them legitimizing this violence and saying that the heart of the problem is that France is racist and Islamophobic, then I say the founding principles have been lost,” Macron told Smith in a column published on Saturday.
Islamist terrorists have killed more than 250 people in France since 2015, the most among Western countries. The latest wave began when teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded on October 16 by an 18-year-old jihadist migrant in suburban Paris. Paty was allegedly targeted for showing his middle-school students cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed for a lesson on freedom of expression.
Macron responded by honoring Paty and defending free-speech rights and France’s culture of secularism. His government carried out dozens of raids on individuals and Islamic groups accused of radicalism. More attacks followed, including the stabbing murders of three people in Nice – including one who was decapitated by a Tunisian migrant. Angered by Macron’s aggressive response, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a boycott of French products.
Some of the headlines:
“Macron’s war on Islamic separatism only divides France further,”
Washington Post:
“instead of fighting systemic racism, France wants to reform Islam.”
The New York Times :
“Is France fueling Muslim terrorism by trying to prevent it?”
The Times’ first headline about the beheading: “French police shoot and kill man after a fatal knife attack on the street.”
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Macron is spot on here. Legitimizing terrorism is simply unacceptable and should be not tolerated. Thankfully people are realizing that CNN and friends are not in the business of news reporting, but their real aim is to push a political agenda harmful to the country and its citizens.
MSM is gaining formidable enemies and their lifespan is quickly coming to an end.
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