MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2020) Over 50 percent of Russians disagree with French President Emmanuel Macron's stance on freedom of speech, including his defending of religious caricatures, a fresh poll by the country's Public Opinion Foundation showed on Friday.
Respondents were asked to assess the words of Macron that "France will never give up freedom of speech, including the right to publish cartoons on religious topics"
Fifty-five percent of respondents called this stance wrong, while 23 percent sided with Macron. Another 22 percent were unable to give a definitive answer.
Those who agreed with the French leader said: "Freedom of speech is a right" (13 percent); "You need to follow the laws and norms of the country you have come to live in" (2 percent); "This is just a caricature" (2 percent); and "Macron is the president, he expresses his opinion" (2 percent).
Opponents of this stance argued that "Cartoons on religious topics offend the feelings of believers" (22 percent); "One should not mock what is sacred to others" (10 percent); "This is not freedom, but a violation of the rights of Muslims to believe how they feel right" (10 percent); "It provokes conflicts, terrorist attacks and wars" (6 percent); and "We need to be more tolerant and respect the feelings of other people" (5 percent).
In total, 71 percent of respondents believe that there are cases when freedom of speech should be restricted. Twenty-one percent, in contrast, insisted that freedom of speech should not be restricted under any circumstances.
Of those Russians who had heard about the French teacher's beheading by a radicalized teen of Chechen origin near Paris, 20 percent linked the attack to "disrespect for someone else's religion, an insult to the feelings of believers and a conflict on religious grounds," according to the pollster.
Seven percent believe that the attack was a result of the policy of the French authorities. The same portion of respondents called it a result of migrant influx. Russians also mentioned "actions of radical Islamists" (6 percent), "people's dissatisfaction with living conditions" (5 percent) and "a clash of cultures and ethnic conflict" (4 percent). Another 4 percent described it as "the actions of insane, inadequate people" and expressed the opinion that "someone benefits from it, terrorist attacks are committed for money."
The poll was conducted by phone among 1,000 respondents from November 6-8. The error margin does not exceed 3.8 percent.
French history teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded by an 18-year-old teenager of Chechen origin in Paris outskirts on October 16 after showing cartoons of prophet Mohammad to his students as part of freedom of expression lessons.
Speaking at the commemoration ceremony for the victim, Macron vowed to defend freedom of expression, including cartoons of Muhammad, and crack down on the Islamist threat.
The teacher's killing was followed by a deadly stabbing attack on a Catholic church in Nice on October 29, in which a 21-year-old Tunisian migrant partially beheaded one woman and killed two other people.
