French interior minister under fire for ‘civilizations’ remarks

French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said Sunday he stood by remarks that not all civilizations are equal, as critics denounced his comments as dangerous and xenophobic.Gueant, who is also responsible for immigration and is known as a hard-liner, provoked a storm of controversy with the comments Saturday. “Contrary to what the left’s relativist ideology says, for us all civilizations are not of equal value,” Gueant told a gathering of right-wing students. “Those which defend humanity seem to us to be more advanced than those that do not,” he said. “Those which defend liberty, equality and fraternity, seem to us superior to those which accept tyranny, the subservience of women, social and ethnic hatred,” he said in his speech, a copy of which was obtained by AFP. He also stressed the need to “protect our civilization.” “I do not regret [the comments],” Gueant said Sunday, though he accused critics of taking them “out of context.” The left denounced his speech as an attempt by President Nicolas Sarkozy to woo supporters of the far-right National Front (FN) ahead of a two-round presidential election in April and May. Harlem Desir, the No. 2 in the French Socialist Party, slammed “the pitiful provocation from a minister reduced to a mouthpiece for the FN.” Bernard Cazeneuve, a spokesman for Socialist presidential candidate Francois Hollande, denounced the remarks as “divisive and degrading” while former Socialist candidate Segolene Royal called them “dangerous.” Sarkozy’s allies were quick to defend the minister, however. Defense Minister Gerard Longuet said it was simply “common sense” to suggest civilizations could be ranked according to values such as “respecting personal rights, rejecting violence or abolishing the death penalty.” Finance Minister Francois Baroin accused the left of “exploiting the statements for electoral gain.” Meanwhile, Sarkozy, who is looking to give his re-election hopes a boost, is holding a joint French and German television interview with fellow right-winger Chancellor Angela Merkel Monday.