The French president referred to the destruction, while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a new wing in the Louvre museum, entirely dedicated to Islamic art.
He said that looking at the numerous works of art, one could understand that “the best weapons to fight against fanaticism which claims to be Islamic can be found in islam itself.”
“The honour of Islamic civilisations is that they are older, more alive and more tolerant than some of those who today abusively claim to speak in their name,” said Hollande.
The opening of the new wing, in the world’s largest museum, comes amid anti-Western protests throughout the Islamic world in reaction to the production in the United States of the film “The innocence of Muslims.”
Hollande also declared that “here in France, every time that the dignity of a human being, or freedom of speech is compromised, we will be there.”