PROSPECT: In trying to defeat terrorism, Macron must not undermine the principles of the French Republic

Fighting a culture war against the Muslim “enemy within” will not help counter terrorism

When French pupils returned to school in November, they marked a minute of silence to remember Samuel Paty. The teacher’s lesson on free speech, which included Charlie Hebdo’s satirical images of the Prophet Muhammad, was used to justify his brutal murder on 16th October. A fortnight later, three people were killed at a church in Nice. Today, a wounded France is, inevitably, not only grieving but also trying to make sense of these gruesome crimes.

There has been much defiant resharing of the images in the wake of the attacks, which in turn has seen Muslim-majority countries call for a boycott of French goods. This led to protests and an attack on a security guard at the French consulate in Saudi Arabia. In response, President Emmanuel Macron sought de-escalation: “The caricatures are not a governmental project,” he insisted to Al Jazeera, “but emerged from free and independent newspapers.”

Photo Credit : Emmanuel Macron outside the Austrian Embassy in Paris Credit: Berzane Nasser/ABACA/ABACA/PA Images