French fascist leader Le Pen backs Macron in France-Turkey spat

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday said that she defends France's president against "provocations" by the Turkish President, as tensions between the NATO allies intensify.

"Faced with these multiple provocations from Mr. Erdogan (Turkish president) over the past months, faced with this direct attack against the President of the French Republic, I defend the President of the Republic," Le Pen said.

"The recall (of the French Ambassador from Turkey) is a significant act. We cannot say that it is a strong response, because a whole many questions arise of what we do with Turkey."

France recalled its ambassador to Turkey for consultations after Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Emmanuel Macron needed mental health treatment and made other comments that the French government described as unacceptably rude.

"The recall (of the French Ambassador from Turkey) is a significant act. We cannot say that it is a strong response either because a whole many questions arise of what we do with Turkey," said Le Pen, head of National Rally party.

Erdogan questioned his French counterpart's mental condition while criticising Macron's attitude toward Islam and Muslims.

Read more: Erdogan tells Macron to undergo 'mental checks' over his policies towards Muslims

Tensions between France and Turkey increased in recent months over issues that include the fighting in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, a region within Azerbaijan that is controlled by ethnic Armenian separatists.

Macron has notably accused Turkey of flouting its commitments by ramping up its military presence in Libya and bringing in jihadi fighters from Syria.

France also has sided with Greece and Cyprus in tensions with Turkey over offshore oil and gas drilling in the eastern Mediterranean, prompting criticism from Ankara.



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