Boycott French products grow in Muslim world after Macron backs Mohammed cartoons.

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CNN)Calls are growing in parts of the Muslim world to boycott French goods in protest after President Emmanuel Macron publicly defended cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, which are considered blasphemous in Islam.

Macron made the remarks last week at a tribute to the murdered high school teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded earlier this month during a terror attack in a northern suburb of Paris.

Paty was killed after he showed cartoons of the prophet during a class on freedom of expression.

Macron said that France would not "give up" the caricatures and pledged to tackle extreme Islamism in the country, sparking demonstrations and triggering boycotts in Muslim-majority countries.

"I am calling on the people, do not go near French goods, do not buy them," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday during a speech in the capital Ankara. "European leaders must say 'stop' to Macron and his campaign of hatred."

But fellow European leaders spoke out in support of Macron, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose spokesperson swiftly condemned Erdogan's comments on Monday.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Berlin stood in solidarity with Paris. The leaders of Greece and Austria have also expressed support for Macron.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/26/e...ntl/index.html