President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday blamed France’s nationwide riots on institutional racism and the country’s colonial past, saying that he hoped the violent events would come to an end as soon as possible.
"In countries known for their colonial past, cultural racism has turned into institutional racism," he said on television after chairing a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.
He blamed the French unrest Monday on Islamophobia that he linked to France’s colonial past.
The French government has been battling riots and looting in Paris and across the country since 17-year-old Nahel M. – a French citizen of Algerian background – was shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop last Tuesday.
"At the root of the events that started in France is the colonial architecture built by this mentality. Most immigrants condemned to live in ghettos, who are systematically oppressed, are Muslims."
He also condemned the widespread looting that has accompanied the unrest.
"The streets cannot be used to seek justice. However, it is clear the authorities should also learn from the social explosion," Erdoğan said.
"We hope that the recent events, which cause us concern, will come to an end as soon as possible before more blood is shed and the spiral of violence worsens," he added.
Erdoğan also said that Türkiye is concerned that these events will lead to a "new wave of pressure and intimidation" of immigrants and Muslims.
The president also said the Turkish Foreign Ministry had issued necessary advisories to citizens who live in France or plan to visit there.
"Our embassies and consulates always stand with our citizens. We are also closely monitoring the process with our relevant departments...
"We do not want any country, where hundreds of thousands of our citizens live, to be dragged into such a vortex. Above all, we cannot allow racial hatred to target our people," he added.
Türkiye’s Ambassador to France Ali Onaner on Tuesday said that the embassy is monitoring the events closely.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Onaner underlined the embassy is making "every effort to ensure that none of our citizens suffer from these incidents, and not be affected."
The ambassador elaborated that the French authorities do not have the obligation of informing the embassy in the case of dual citizens in the case of arrests and that relatives should in these cases contact the embassy to ask for support.
"With the information we have at the moment, we can say that there is no Turkish citizen detained."
He added that the embassy also continues to follow the events closely so that businesses of Turkish citizens in France are not damaged.
"As far as we can follow from the information on social media, we have at least one citizen who may have been affected by the lootings, and our consulate general is making efforts to contact this citizen," Onaner said.
He said that the killing of the 17-year-old caused a reaction in all segments of the French population as the video showing the moment of his death did not show that the police acted in self-defense.
Pointing out that the incidents continued to increase in the first four days, which he described as an alarming development, Onaner reiterated that the embassy issued a travel warning for Turkish citizens who are in or traveling to France.
Onaner stated that as part of the warning, they advised citizens to stay away from the areas where these actions took place and called on them to follow the statements made by the embassy or the French authorities.
Quran Burning in Sweden
On the other side, Erdoğan also spoke on the latest Islamophobic act in Sweden, renewing his condemnation of a Quran-burning that took place in Stockholm last week, describing the action as a hate crime against Muslims.
Swedish police allowed the burning outside a mosque in central Stockholm, citing freedom of speech after a court overturned a ban on a similar Quran burning.
"The vile attack on our holy book, the Holy Quran, in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, enraged us all," Erdoğan said. "This perverted disregard for the feelings of 2 billion Muslims cannot be compatible with the most basic human values, let alone freedom of thought."
"We have made it clear that the determined fight against terrorist organizations and Islamophobia are our red line," Erdoğan said. "Everyone must accept that Türkiye’s friendship cannot be won by supporting terrorism or making space for terrorists."
Türkiye has delayed giving its final approval to Sweden’s membership in NATO, accusing the country of being too lenient toward anti-Islamic demonstrations as well as terrorist entities.
NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time NATO leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12, but Erdoğan said Stockholm still had obligations to fulfill. NATO requires the unanimous approval of all existing members to expand, and Türkiye and Hungary are the only countries that have not yet ratified Sweden’s bid.
"Instead of wasting time with distraction tactics, we believe that keeping to the promises will be a more rational, more beneficial method," Erdoğan said. "We advise them to scrutinize themselves and do their homework better."
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022. Finland has been a member of the alliance since April 2023.
Damage to Sweden’s Image
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom, on the same day, said that incidents such as the Quran burning "could turn our country’s good image into a bad one."
Speaking to local daily Sydsvenskan on Monday, Billstrom said the Swedish state struggles to save its reputation.
"Sweden’s good image will change in the long run if it continues to be portrayed as Islamophobic. It is difficult to predict what the consequences will be in the process of Sweden’s NATO membership approval. Defense is also important," the foreign minister said, drawing attention to Türkiye’s reservations in ratifying Sweden’s accession to NATO.