French President Emmanuel Macron is seen on a television screen in a pub while he addresses the nation, as the country eases lockdown measures taken to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Nice, France, June 14, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday fighting racism should not lead to a “hateful” re-writing of history following worldwide protests over the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a police officer in the United States.
Some protesters in the United States and elsewhere have targeted statues of historic figures associated with slavery or other past human rights abuses.
“I will be very clear tonight, compatriots: the Republic won’t erase any name from its history. It will forget none of its artworks, it won’t take down statues,” he said in a televised address to the nation.
Reporting by Michel Rose and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Gareth Jones