President Emmanuel Macron was backed by France’s political establishment yesterday after the country became the target of a campaign by some Muslim nations to boycott its goods.
Mr Macron's refusal to condemn the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, which are considered blasphemous under Islam, has been the focus of the protests.
The French Council of the Muslim Faith issued a statement on Monday as the row drew in leaders such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
"France is a big country," said the council, which acts as an official go-between for the state and observant Muslims.
"Muslim citizens are not persecuted, they freely construct their mosques and the freely practise their religion."
The campaign was launched as France was marking the death of a teacher, Samuel Paty, who showed his class a copy of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo this month.
The campaign coincided with a new law addressing the influence of Muslim groups on French community and government organisations.
Former prime minister Alain Juppe expressed the support of centre-right parties for Mr Macron but urged him to address the concerns of those alienated by the measure.
“Avoid the political chicanery and try to unite the nation in a fight which is that of all French women and men," Mr Juppe said.
"Today we must unite, close ranks and support all those who act effectively to fight against this scourge that undermines the republic.”
Mr Juppe said the objectives Mr Macron set out could be achieved through the application of existing laws.
The important thing was to pull back from an escalating culture clash.
“What strikes me today is the excitement that we are seeing all over the place," Mr Juppe said. "You have to keep your cool in all of this."
The newspaper Le Monde said Mr Erdogan played a central role in the boycott calls and had his own agenda.
Turkey has close financial and political ties to many of the organisations that would face new restraints under the new bill.
"This new offensive by the Turkish leader betrays his frustration with the bill being prepared in Paris on Islamist separatism, which should deprive Turkey of its main lever over Islam in France, that of Turkish imams and Turkish language teachers in public schools," it said in an editorial.
It said Mr Erdogan was involved in a confrontation with Paris over Turkey's presence in the gas-rich seas of the Eastern Mediterranean.
It called for other European countries to form more of a united front.
"The fact remains that France, voluntarily mounted on the frontline in the Eastern Mediterranean, must not remain alone in facing the adventurism of the Turkish president," the editorial said.
"Solidarity with Paris in this new episode, expressly formulated on Sunday by the leaders of the EU institutions, is important.
"Heads of state and government of the member states, in particular of Germany, would be welcome, as would the stronger positions taken by Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the face of the excesses of Ankara within the organisation.
The German government on Monday described attacks by Mr Erdogan against Mr Macron as "defamatory" and "unacceptable", and expressed "solidarity" with Paris.
One of Mr Erdogan's closest aides, spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, on Twitter denied that Turkey had failed to condemn Mr Paty's killing, saying it did so in unambiguous terms.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said she strongly condemned Erdogan's fiery remarks about Mr Macron.
"They are defamatory comments that are completely unacceptable, particularly against the backdrop of the horrific murder of the French teacher Samuel Paty by an Islamist fanatic," said the spokesman, Steffen Seibert.
The Netherlands' Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, also added his support for Fance.
France’s Foreign Ministry said the boycott calls were “baseless and should stop immediately, as well as all attacks against our country, which are being pushed by a radical minority”.
Companies affected by the boycott campaign would be supported by the state, said France’s Foreign Trade Minister, Franck Riester.
Mr Riester said officials from his ministry were “in permanent contact with the French companies concerned that are operating in the food industry”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Fixtures
Friday Leganes v Alaves, 10.15pm; Valencia v Las Palmas, 12.15am
Saturday Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad, 8.15pm; Girona v Atletico Madrid, 10.15pm; Sevilla v Espanyol, 12.15am
Sunday Athletic Bilbao v Getafe, 8.15am; Barcelona v Real Betis, 10.15pm; Deportivo v Real Madrid, 12.15am
Monday Levante v Villarreal, 10.15pm; Malaga v Eibar, midnight
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The five pillars of Islam
As You Were
Liam Gallagher
(Warner Bros)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Wayne Rooney's career
Everton (2002-2004)
- Appearances: 48
- Goals: 17
Manchester United (2004-2017)
- Appearances: 496
- Goals: 253
England (2003-)
- Appearances: 119
- Goals: 53
What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
The stats: 2017 Jaguar XJ
Price, base / as tested Dh326,700 / Dh342,700
Engine 3.0L V6
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 340hp @ 6,000pm
Torque 450Nm @ 3,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.1L / 100km
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
