Niinistö expresses solidarity with Macron to fight against terrorism

President Sauli Niinistö on Monday expressed full solidarity with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to fight terrorism.

“I stand in full solidarity with President @EmmanuelMacron and our colleagues in the defence of European values and in the fight against terrorism,” said Niinistö in a post in the evening in the Finnish president’s official Twitter page.

The French president recently announced measures against terrorism, following the killing of Samuel Paty, a teacher, by a terrorist.

An 18-year-old refugee of Chechen origin decapitated the teacher on 16 October after the teacher had reportedly shown in his class cartoons of Prophet Muhammad as part of a discussion on freedom of expression.

The killer, however, was shot dead by police as he refused to surrender.

Macron has paid tribute to Paty, and said France “will not give up our cartoons.”

Meanwhile, following the incidents, different Muslim countries and groups announced to boycott French products, if France takes actions against terrorism.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Turks to boycott French goods amid a row over France’s tough stance on radical Islam.

In a televised speech, he urged world leaders on Monday to protect Muslims “if there is oppression against Muslims in France,” reported the British Broadcasting Corporation.