‘We are not Hungary or Turkey’

President Emmanuel Macron has denied claims that freedoms are being eroded in France under his rule as a "big lie", with controversy intensifying over a new security law. 

Striking criticism of Macron appeared in international media after he announced a crackdown on radical Islam and his government tried to push through a security bill that would restrict the publication of images of police.

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"I cannot let it be said that we are reducing freedoms in France," Macron told the online news portal Brut in a televised interview, complaining that France had been "caricatured" in the debate over the security legislation.

"It's a big lie. We are not Hungary or Turkey," he added, hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had called Macron "trouble" and urged the French to "get rid" of him as soon as possible.

Some commentaries in English-language media have accused Macron of targeting all Muslims following a spate of attacks in the last weeks blamed on radical Islamists.

But Macron insisted he was not singling out Muslims, rather simply defending the country's secular system.

"France has no problem with Islam... we are a country that has always had a dialogue." But he emphasised: "We founded our Republic on the separation of politics and religion."

Refusing to be drawn into Erdogan's latest personal attack on him, Macron said: "I believe in respect... I think invective between political leaders is not a good method."

"Macron is trouble for France. With Macron, France is passing through a very, very dangerous period. I hope that France will get rid of Macron trouble as soon as possible," Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul.

He said the French should dump their leader "otherwise they will not be able to get rid of yellow vests", referring to the protest movement that erupted in France in 2018.

"Yellow vests could later turn into red vests," Erdogan said, without elaborating.

The Turkish leader has repeatedly suggested that Macron get "mental checks" and urged the Turkish people to boycott French-labelled products. 

Erdogan's diatribe came as the European Union weighs imposing sanctions against Turkey at a December 10 summit, largely over its standoff with EU member Greece in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey and France are also at odds over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan populated by ethnic Armenians that broke away from Baku's control in a 1990s post-Soviet war.