Muslims' protests continue against France as Macron tries to calm anger

Hundreds of protesters in Pakistan have burnt effigies of France's leader and chanted anti-French slogans, as President Emmanuel Macron tried to send a message of understanding to Muslims around the world.

The demonstrations, which followed anti-France protests across the Muslim world last week, came after President Macron's interview late Saturday in which he said that he understood the shock Muslims felt at caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad. 

Macron was speaking with the Qatar-based Arabic TV station Al Jazeera, where he also defended freedoms of expression and France's secular values.

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'Clarifying misunderstanding'

Macron’s office said the interview was aimed at clarifying misunderstandings around France’s position and the president's words which they say have been taken out of context.

“I have never said that,” Macron told the Al Jazeera interviewer, explaining that some false translations of his words in the media showed him to support the cartoons mocking Prophet Muhammad. “Those are lies.”

Macron explained that all religions are subject to the freedom of expression and “these drawings.”

“I understand and respect that people can be shocked by these cartoons,” he said.

“But I will never accept that someone can justify the use of physical violence because of these cartoons. And I will always defend freedom of speech in my country, of thought, of drawing.”

The interview set off a storm on social media, as many argued the Qatari station erred by giving space to the French President, whom they said failed to apologise for offending Muslims. Some criticised Macron for choosing Al Jazeera, a station that has been at the centre of political disputes between Arab Gulf nations and Turkey and viewed by many as giving airtime to hardliners and Islamist groups, outlawed in many countries in the Middle East.

But for others, Macron's appearance on Al Jazeera was hailed as a success of the protest and boycott campaigns, which have forced the French president to address Muslims through an Arabic-speaking channel.

READ MORE: Emmanuel Macron’s Islamophobia and the boomerang effect

Condemnation of blasphemy 

The protests in Muslim-majority nations over the last week, and calls for boycotts of French products, began initially after Macron eulogised a French teacher in Paris who was decapitated for showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class. 

Islamist groups around the Muslim world have rallied their supporters against the caricatures and the French government, keeping up protests over the last week targeting Macron.

On Sunday in the Pakistani city of Karachi, hundreds of supporters of the main Islamist party, Jaamat-e-Islami, set an effigy of Macron on fire. The crowd of about 500 chanted against Macron and called for the boycott of French products.

The crowd marched toward the French Consulate in the city while security cordoned off the area.

Earlier Sunday in Karachi, Shia students marched for three kilometres chanting and pledging to sacrifice their lives for the honour of Islam and its Prophet. Some 500 students, including a couple hundred women, dragged French flags on the floor and carried pictures of Macron. One banner depicted Marcon’s face with a big cross.

“We condemn blasphemy of Islam and Prophet Muhammad by French President,” read a slogan scribbled on a French flag.

The well-organised crowd wearing face masks were chanting praise for Prophet Muhammad.

In central Pakistani city of Multan, hundreds of merchants rallied in a demonstration to call for a boycott of French products. The crowd also burned an effigy of Macron and chanted: “Muslims cannot tolerate blasphemy of their Prophet” and “the civilised world should give proof of being civilised.”

In Lebanon's capital of Beirut, protesters marched to the French Embassy in the Lebanese capital, raising banners that read: “Anything but Prophet Muhammad,” and chanted in defence of Islam. Security was tight around the embassy.

In Ahmedabad, a city in India's Gujarat state, protesters pasted photographs of Macron onto streets overnight, leaving them for pedestrians and passing vehicles to go over on Sunday.

Anti-France protests were held by Muslim groups on Friday in Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital, and Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh state.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condemned the most recent terrorist attacks in France.

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