Photos of Macron set alight & arrests made as Muslims protest over Prophet Mohammed cartoons outside French embassy in Moscow

An angry crowd gathered outside the French embassy in Moscow on Friday afternoon to express displeasure towards President Emmanuel Macron for defending caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. The rally resulted in several arrests.

Dozens of Muslims joined the action, shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ and carrying photos of Macron with a footprint on his face. A similar picture was earlier reposted on Instagram by Russian MMA champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who called the French president “scum” for his views.

A caricature depicting Macron as the devil, which was first published in an Iranian paper, was also on display. Several photos of the French leader were torched during the protest.

At one point, the demonstrators were filmed engaged in a shoving match with police.

At least 10 people ended up being detained, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

Russian law enforcement officers detain a demonstrator during a protest against the publications of a cartoon of Prophet Mohammad near the French embassy in Moscow. © Sputnik / Anton Denisov

A similar gathering was also staged outside the embassy on Thursday, prompting diplomats to ask the Russian authorities to increase security, according to media reports. 

Muslim rallies against France and Macron have been taking place in many countries after the French leader insisted that the publication of caricatures of Prophet Mohammed, which is considered blasphemy in Islam, was in line with the country’s values in the area of freedom of speech.

Following the beheading of French teacher, Samuel Paty, who showed his students controversial cartoons that had earlier been printed by Paris' Charlie Hebdo magazine, Macron vowed to clampdown on Muslim extremism and ordered the closure of several mosques over claims they promote radical ideology.

The statement led to accusations of Islamophobia against Macron and was allegedly the inspiration behind an attack on a church in Nice on Thursday, in which two people were beheaded and another fatally wounded.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!