British police have broken up an “unlawful” protest outside the French embassy in London as thousands of Muslims protest around the world.
Hundreds of muslims poured out of mosques from Friday prayers to clash with police outside the embassy, calling for the head of French President Emmanuel Macron.
The outrage comes after Macron backed the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo – based in Paris – which mocks the muslim holy prophet Mohammed through caricatures.
The magazine have reprinted the images in light of the opening of the trial for the deadly 2015 attack against the publication, which saw staff murdered.
Macron’s backings and the remerging of the insulting pictures of Mohammed have led to clashes across the world and even a teacher in France being beheaded by an 18 year old muslim.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in London this Friday afternoon holding signs that bore the words ‘We will not tolerate disrespect of our beloved prophet’, ‘The Earth’s biggest terrorist is Macron’ and ‘Insult is not freedom of speech’ as the Muslim world renewed its anger at the French president.
Other protesters in London held up signs depicting the French President as a demonic creature, while others held up a portrait of Macron with a boot mark across his face.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson confirmed that the demonstrations outside the London embassy had now dispersed. They added: ‘Officers engaged and encouraged those protesting to disperse, the majority left without issue. Those who didn’t comply were dealt with by enforcement.
‘Officers made a total of three arrests. Two people for Covid breaches and one for possession of pyrotechnics.
’13 people have also reported for consideration of a fixed penalty notice.’
On Twitter, the French Embassy in London released a statement saying: ‘France is the target of terrorist attacks against our freedom of expression, to believe or not to believe, to live in the Fraternity. We will remain what we are, a free, tolerant country, proud of its humanist values of democracy.’
After three people were murdered in Nice yesterday in the latest in a long line of terror attacks in France, Macron said that France will not ‘give up on our values’ despite fury at the caricatures.
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