In what may have seemed a good idea to his speechwriter,
French President François Hollande failed - in my view - to show good form in
offering to grant "asylum" to antiquities being trafficked out of Syria
and Iraq by the
so-called Islamic State (IS).
At a time when Europe is facing its
greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War and the far right is seeking
to galvanize public opinion against Syrians fleeing their country's civil war,
Mr. Holland could have chosen a different metaphor at a speech this week to
UNESCO's general conference. That being said, France's
commitment to reinforce action against trafficked antiquities is welcome, and
hopefully French authorities will do all that they promise.
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