Tens of thousands protest in Bangladesh over French cartoons

Tens of thousands of Muslims marched in Bangladesh's capital on Friday to protest the French president's support of secular laws allowing caricatures of the Prophet, burning effigies of him and calling for a boycott of French products. Protests were also reported across the country after Friday's weekly Muslim prayers.

In Dhaka, tens of thousands of people from more than a dozen Islamist parties and groups poured into the streets near the Baitul Mokarram national mosque demanding that Bangladesh sever relations with France. Some carried banners reading "Say no to Islamphobia" and "Boycott French products." Barbed-wire fences were installed near the mosque as hundreds of police in riot gear cordoned off the processions. The protesters carried effigies of President Emmanuel Macron and then burned them.

"I ask the government to remove the French Embassy from this country immediately. Otherwise, in the face of the movement, no one favoring France will be able to stay in power," Abu Taher Jihadi al Kashemi, a leader of the marches, told the protesters. France is an important aid provider and trading partner for Bangladesh.

Protests began in the Muslim-majority country earlier this week, with pressure growing on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to officially denounce France. Hasina, who has yet to officially comment, follows a policy of balanced diplomatic ties with Muslim and Western nations.