France's Double Standard Towards Freedom of Expression

The French magazine Charlie Hebdo republished insulting cartoons against the Holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH) on its cover yesterday. This happened while Emmanuel Macron, in response to this incident, called it an example of freedom of expression.

Seyyed Massoud Shojaei Tabatabai, Director-General of Visual Arts and an international designer and cartoonist, reacted to this incident and said, “Publishing insulting cartoons against the Holy Prophet (PBUH) by Charlie Hebdo magazine is very unfortunate. It is worth mentioning that French President Emmanuel Macron did not condemn this issue, and stated that his country enjoys the freedom of expression.

He went to say that when it comes to issues such as the Holocaust, no one is allowed to do the same thing and any insult will result in severe punishments.

“It seems that this double standard by the French president should be analyzed. It can even be answered in the language of caricature,” he added.

“What we have been pursuing in the field of caricature is challenging a double standard regarding the freedom of expression. First, we stated that publishing such cartoons is inappropriate. Second, if it is about the freedom of expression, why no one is permitted to express their opinion on issues such as the Holocaust. Third, we raised the issue in the field of caricature and asked why should occupied Palestine pay for the Holocaust?" he said.