India has issued a statement condemning the personal attacks against French President Emmanuel Macron over his stand on Islam and radicalism. The Ministry of External Affairs has come out in support of Macron and said the attacks are a violation of the basic standards of international discourse, reports India Today.
The MEA has also condemned the brutal terror attack, in which a French teacher was beheaded in public, and said that there is no justification for terrorism for any reason or under any circumstance. This comes amid massive outrage across the Muslim world with several countries going against Macron's stance.
"We strongly deplore the personal attacks in unacceptable language on President Emmanuel Macron in violation of the most basic standards of international discourse," the MEA said.
"We also condemn the brutal terrorist attack that took the life of a French teacher in a gruesome manner that has shocked the world. We offer our condolences to his family and the people of France," it said.
Following the MEA statement, French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain thanked India saying both countries can count on each other in the fight against terrorism.
"Thank you @MEAIndia. France and India can always count on each other in the fight against terrorism," he tweeted.
Macron has been facing criticism from various Muslim-majority countries after he took a tough stand on radical Islam and defended cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The French President said that Islam was a religion in “crisis”.
His comments came in the backdrop of the beheading of French teacher Samuel Paty on October 16 outside Paris in broad daylight. He had shown caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad to his students.