Europe 1 with AFP 18:38 p.m., July 12, 2023

Laurence Boone, France's secretary of state for Europe, said several countries had cynically exploited the recent riots in the France, including Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

French Secretary of State for Europe Laurence Boone on Wednesday accused several countries of cynically exploiting the recent riots that have shaken the France, citing Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan. "We must absolutely not be fooled by the cynicism and bad intentions of some countries, which never hesitate in the face of instrumentalization or disinformation," said Laurence Boone, questioned in the Senate on the degradation of the image of the France abroad.

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"The propaganda of the regimes"

"In some countries, images of events are used for the benefit of regime propaganda and we have systematically responded to these malices, including Azerbaijani, Turkish or Iranian remarks," she added. In early July, Tehran called on the France to "end the violent treatment" of its population and to "show restraint". Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said "racism and colonialism" were behind the riots in France. "The lessons of these countries would be laughable if there were not so many human rights problems within them," Boone said.

"The whole government has communicated"

At the end of June, the death of a teenager killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in the Paris suburbs led to several nights of riots and hundreds of millions of euros of damage in many French cities. "The whole government has communicated a lot, including abroad, on the measures taken to restore public order on our territory," said Laurence Boone. "Our embassies have been informed, they have reassured, so that there have been no cancellations, changes of stay. There is no drop in tourist attendance."