Egypt: France Calls for Morsi's Release

Photo: Saeed Shahat/IRIN
A pro-Morsi demonstration.

France on Tuesday called for the release of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius described the situation on the country as "very critical".

"We condemn the violence ... We call for dialogue and for the release of president Morsi," Laurent Fabius told reporters in Paris. "The situation is very critical. We call for the rejection of violence and for the release of political prisoners including former president Morsi."

Fabius was due to talk to European Union policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is visiting Egypt, by phone later on Tuesday.

On Tuesday she became the first foreign dignitary to meet Morsi since he was detained by the military amid mass demonstrations against his government.

Morsi's supporters have since taken to the streets to demand his reinstatement and a number have been killed by the army.

Ashton called for an end to the violence and a political transition that would include the Muslim Brotherhood, the organisation that provides Morsi's base.

  • Comment

Copyright © 2013 Radio France Internationale. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 130 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.

Comments Post a comment

InFocus

France Calls for the Release of Egypt's Morsi

picture

The French government has condemed ongoing violence in Egypt and called for the release of political prisoners including ousted president Mohamed Morsi. Read more »