“I told them our admiration, our respect and our support”declared Emmanuel Macron, after having received Friday, November 11 at the Elysee Palace a delegation of four Iranian activists engaged in the fight against the Islamic regime since the death of Mahsa Amini last September.
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“The fight they lead takes on a very special meaning for us: it is for the values that make up our motto. That of a universalism of freedom in which we believe”said the President of the Republic, questioned by Nicolas Demorand and Léa Salamé in the context of an interview carried out at the Elysée Palace on Friday on the sidelines of the Peace Forum and broadcast Monday, November 14 on France Inter.
.@EmmanuelMacron about the Iranian women: “I told them our admiration, our respect, our support, because their fight is that of the values which are our motto, is that of a universalism of freedom in which we believe” #le7930inter pic.twitter.com/M4vvGQC9Ax
– France Inter (@franceinter) November 14, 2022
“They go against a lot of ready-made ideas that we’ve been hearing for so many years… That the values we were defending were good for the West but they weren’t true there -bas. That women, deep down, were happy to live in this situation of obscurantism and that moreover, culturally, men would not support them if they wanted to get out of it”, added Emmanuel Macron before rejoicing: “It is quite the opposite that is demonstrated by this generation”, seeing in the mobilization of men alongside Iranian women, a proof “French-style universalism”.
The reception of this delegation – made up of Masih Alinejad, a New York-based activist who encourages Iranian women to protest against the compulsory wearing of the veil, Shima Babaei, who is fighting for information about her father, of whom she is without news, Ladan Boroumand, co-founder of a Washington-based rights organization, and Roya Piraei – came under heavy criticism from the Iranian regime, which on Sunday slammed a “flagrant violation” France’s responsibilities in the fight against “terrorism and violence”.
“What is most impressive about this movement and this revolution is that these young women and young men have only ever lived under this regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran”judge Emmanuel Macron. “They say stop: ‘I don’t want to wear the veil, I don’t want this submission’. What happens is therefore the will to recognize equality between women and men.he specified before concluding : “That’s life and that’s the truth.”
“I am in favor of us having a strong diplomatic reaction as well as sanctions on personalities linked to the regime”, explained Emmanuel Macron. The President of the Republic wants sanctions “targeted“especially against those who have a”responsibility in the repression of this revolution“. Emmanuel Macron specified that work was underway at European level to “complete lists” of sanctioned personalities, notably belonging to the body of the guards of the Islamic revolution. “The great difficulty is to be sure to sanction the right people, those who are at the heart of the system”he adds, ensuring that he wants to ensure that these measures are “effective” and that they “do not weigh on the population”.
.@EmmanuelMacron is in favor of “a strong diplomatic reaction and sanctions on the personalities of the Iranian regime” #le7930inter pic.twitter.com/JpbJaOPjrG
– France Inter (@franceinter) November 14, 2022
In parallel with these targeted sanctions, the President ensures that “all diplomatic options” are on the table. According to him, “the level of violence and repression” of the Iranian regime is “unpublished” and should lead to a “reaction of the international community”. Among the avenues mentioned, the proposal for a resolution to the United Nations Human Rights Council on the creation of a mechanism to investigate the “violation of human rights in Iran”.
Despite the firmness displayed, Emmanuel Macron, on the other hand, assumes that he met the ultra-conservative Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi in New York, just four days after the death of Mahsa Amini: “I deeply respect the emotion and even the revolt that it can arouse. But from where I am, the most useful role is to carry out diplomatic work”, he insists. According to him, it is the “duty of France” to maintain the dialogue. “Diplomacy is talking with people we disagree with to try to bridge those gaps”he believes, before concluding: “Not doing so might be more comfortable, including for me, but it wouldn’t be helpful”.