However, the Turkish president had expressed hope in 2020 that France would “get rid of” Emmanuel Macron “as soon as possible”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the defeat of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in last weekend’s presidential election in France “a victory”, Turkish media reported on Saturday.
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“The elimination and defeat of extremist views in the French elections is, in my opinion, a victory because everything we suffer from is caused by extremism,” he told reporters on the plane returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia.
Marine Le Pen, who claims to want to “fight against Islamist ideology” and said she is “in favor of banning the veil in public spaces,” lost to outgoing President Emmanuel Macron but posted a record 41.5% for the extreme right. .
“I hope that with the outcome of this election, our relations (with France) will be much better positioned,” the Turkish president continued.
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In recent years, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly clashed with his French counterpart, notably accusing him of waging “a hate campaign” against Muslims when they defended freedom of cartooning or challenged the French government’s fight against radical Islamism. He even said in 2020 that he hoped France would “get rid of” Emmanuel Macron “as soon as possible”.