I understand the sentiments of Muslims: Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron's comment comes after the knife attack near a church in the Mediterranean city of Nice. He said that he will always defend the freedom to speak, to write, to think, to draw in his own country. He understands the sentiments of the Muslims but his words and his role were misunderstood as a support for the cartoons.

Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday defended his stand saying that he cannot accept the justified violence even though he understands the feelings of the Muslims who were agitated after the display of the Prophet Muhammad's caricatures. He further stated that he targeted radical Islam which is a threat to all the people including Muslims.

During an interview with Al Jazeera, he said that he will always defend the freedom to speak, to write, to think, to draw in his own country. He understands the sentiments of the Muslims but his words and his role were misunderstood as a support for the cartoons.

Macron's comment comes after the knife attack near a church in the Mediterranean city of Nice.

However, he said that the caricatures are not a governmental project but emerged from an independent newspaper that is not affiliated with the government.

The attack in which a knife-wielding Tunisian man carrying a copy of the Quran killed three people at a church in Nice, was the third in less than two months that French authorities have attributed to Muslim extremists, including the beheading of a teacher who had shown caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class after the images were re-published by satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.