FRANCE expressed condemnation today of Turkey’s “declarations of violence and hatred” and warned that it could respond with sanctions and other measures.  

Tensions between Paris and Ankara have reached a peak in recent days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron needed his head examined for defending satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo over its republication of caricatures of the prophet Mohammed.

“There are now declarations of violence, even hatred, which are regularly posted by President Erdogan, which are unacceptable,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said today.