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France Warns Travelers To Use Caution In Muslim Countries As Calls To Boycott French Goods Grow

France Mourns Decapitated Teacher

(Photo by Siegfried Modola/Getty Images)

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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France warned its citizens Tuesday to be extra careful traveling in Muslim-majority nations as calls grow to boycott French goods following the nations support of displaying caricatures depicting Prophet Mohammad, Reuters reported.

France’s foreign ministry issued a safety warning for French citizens in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iraq and Mauritania, urging them to avoid any protests over the cartoon of Prophet Mohammad and avoid public gatherings, according to Reuters.

“It is recommended to exercise the greatest vigilance, especially while traveling, and in places that are frequented by tourists or expatriate communities,” the warning read.

Paris has also recalled its ambassador in Ankara and Pakistan’s parliament passed a resolution on Monday urging the government to recall its envoy from Paris, per Reuters.

The French embassy in Turkey also issued a similar warning as Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has called for a boycott of French goods.

“Never give credit to French-labelled goods, don’t buy them,” he said, arguing Muslims are “subjected to a lynch campaign similar to that against Jews in Europe before World War II,” according to BBC.

Boycotts are underway in Kuwait and Jordan, where some grocery shops declared they would not sell French goods.

This comes after French history and geography teacher Samuel Paty, 47, was decapitated by Abdoullakh Aboutezidovitch, an 18-year-old Moscow-born Chechen refugee.

Paty was reportedly targeted after he showed students caricatures of Prophet Muhammed, published by the Charlie Hebdo satire magazine in 2015, during a lesson on free speech. Some Muslim parents complained about his decision.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a Tweet Sunday that France “will not give in.” (RELATED: France To Ban Islamist Group Named After Hamas Co-Founder For Being  ‘Directly Involved’ In Decapitation of Teacher)

“We will not give in, ever. We respect all differences in a spirit of peace. We do not accept hate speech and defend reasonable debate. We will always be on the side of human dignity and universal values.”

Macron also defended the use of the caricatures, saying France will keep “loving debates, reasonable arguments, we will love science and its controversies,” he said, according to CNN. “We will not give up caricatures, drawings, even if others are retreating.”

Jordan, Pakistan, Egypt and Iran have all condemned France for the caricatures, per CNN.

“Condemnation of satirical depiction of Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) Disrespecting religious symbols feed culture of hate, terrorism which we condemn in all forms. We must promote respect of the Other. Attackers of our citizens must face justice,” Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s Foreign Minister, tweeted Monday.