Indonesian Protesters Burn Pictures of France's Macron, Call Him the Devil

A few thousand protesters in the world's most populous Muslim nation Indonesia denounced the French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday after he defended the publication of cartoons showing the Prophet Muhammad.

Gathering outside the French embassy in the capital Jakarta, the protesters burned images of Macron, chanted slogans and held up signs saying "Go to Hell Macron," "Macron is the real terrorist," and "Macron is Devil." The embassy was heavily guarded but the demonstration dispersed peacefully in the afternoon.

Macron has faced condemnation and calls for boycotts of French goods from across the Muslim world in recent days even as France mourns the death of at least four people killed over the cartoons, which were initially published in the Charlie Hebdo magazine five years ago and were discussed in a classroom during a lecture in Paris on freedom of expression last month.

The teacher who led the class was beheaded on Oct. 16 and three people were stabbed to death in a separate incident at a church in the seaside town of Nice last week. The violence was a macabre parallel with the assault on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in 2015 when Islamist attackers stormed its office and killed 12 people. The magazine republished the cartoons in September to mark the start of the trial for suspected accomplices.

Macron has called Islam a religion in crisis and in an interview with Al-Jazeera over the weekend he defended the right to freedom of expression but said he understood that people could be "shocked by the caricatures."

But the speakers at the protest, who wore masks because of the pandemic, were not persuaded.

"We demand an apology from him! We demand the Indonesian government to expel the French ambassador!” said one Muslim cleric. Crowds replied "Allahu Akbar!" which is Arabic for "God is Great."

Protester Ela Sapari told VICE News she would reconsider using French fashion brands.

"I do not want to throw away all the stuff that I bought like Hermes, Dior, Chanel, and another one… I have four bags in my closet. Today I brought Fendi because it's Italian. I should not wear those French products, but the ones that I already bought, maybe I will keep some because they're expensive. But I will not buy French products anymore," she said.

"It is our obligation to defend the Prophet Muhammad," she added, while holding a poster that depicted Macron as an enemy of Islam. Several who attended also said they would stop using French brands.

Others said they would stop drinking the Aqua brand of mineral water and cease using the cosmetics brand L'Oreal.

"All Muslims in the world must be united to fight against Macron and France," Hana, a woman in her 50s, told VICE News.

The Indonesian government also has expressed condemnation, with President Joko Widodo accusing Macron of stoking religious tensions.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct a quote from protester Ela Sapari. She said she would keep her French bags at home not that she would throw them away.