In call with Macron, Abbas offers condolences to France on extremist attacks

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the Palestinian and Egyptian leaders after a week of anti-French protests around the Muslim world and three Islamic extremist attacks on France.

Macron is seeking to calm tensions and to straighten out misunderstandings while also defending France’s values. According to the French president’s office, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi both offer him support.

Around the Mideast and South Asia, demonstrators have expressed anger in recent days over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published in French newspaper Charlie Hebdo and Macron’s policies toward freedom of expression and Islamism.

Abbas offers condolences and “his support to France in this ordeal,” according to a statement from Macron’s office.

According to the Palestinian president’s office, Abbas stresses “the need for everyone to respect religions and religious symbols and not allow anything offensive to Prophet Muhammad and all prophets and religions while condemning all those who do so.”

Abbas also emphasizes “his rejection of extremism, violence and terrorism,” while Macron expresses his “respect for Islam and the Islamic world,” according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

In a separate call, el-Sissi expresses his solidarity with France and denounces the attacks as well as the protests, according to Macron’s office.

— With AP