France's Macron urges respect of rule of law in talks with Erdogan

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron told Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan on Friday that democratic countries must respect the rule of law in their fight against terrorism as he voiced concerns about the fate of students, teachers and journalists detained by Ankara.

Macron also said after his talks with the Turkish president at the Elysee presidential palace that they had disagreed about human rights.

“Our democracies must be strong standing up to terrorism... But at the same time our democracies must completely protect the rule of law,” Macron said in a joint news conference.

Macron said that recent developments in Turkey did not allow for progress in Ankara’s decades-long push to join the European Union.

Discussions should change focus, he said, mentioning the possibility of a “partnership” that would fall short of full membership.

The EU has expressed concern over Turkey’s crackdown on suspected supporters of an abortive 2016 coup that has seen some 50,000 people arrested pending trial and 150,000, including teachers, journalists and judges, sacked or suspended from their jobs.

Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for 15 years, defended the crackdown, saying that some journalists encouraged terrorism with their writing, comparing them to gardeners nurturing plants. - More

France's Macron urges respect of rule of law in talks with Erdogan