Hollande Continues to Stand up to Iran and Global Jihadists

My skin crawled yesterday when I heard that Italian officials concealed nude Roman statues in a Rome museum prior to a visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.  This was cultural submission to the global jihad movement which objects to Western culture and values.  Why would Italian officials hide their heritage for an Iranian official?  How long will it be when Western leaders start hiding and censoring Western culture on a wide scale because of objections by Islamists?

Fortunately, French President François Hollande chose not to submit to the Iranian leader’s intolerance of Western culture for a dinner he was scheduled to have with Rouhani.  The Iranian delegation demanded a halal menu and wanted wine removed from the menu.  Hollande refused and insisted on a menu of local food and wine.  His staff said an ‘Iran friendly’ meal went against France’s republican values.  Hollande’s staff offered to hold a breakfast instead, but Rouhani rejected this idea as “too cheap.”  As a result, the two leaders did not dine together.

Meanwhile, French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira resigned yesterday to protest President Hollande’s proposal for a constitutional amendment to strip French citizenship from some homegrown terrorists.  Taubira has been criticized for her weak positions in promoting French security in the wake of the November terrorist shootings by ISIS jihadists that killed 130.  According to the Wall Street Journal, Taubira was replaced by a centrist who reportedly will tip Hollande’s government away from his Socialist Party’s left wing.

Taubira’s lack of national security mindedness could be seen in photos of her bicycling home from the Justice Ministry after she resigned.

Let’s hope Hollande’s principled stand to fight the global jihad movement is a good omen that will offset this week’s nonsensical cultural submission to Iran during President Rouhani’s visit to Rome.