Dozens of Iranians gathered outside the French embassy in Tehran on a Sunday to protest what they viewed as France’s insult to their country by inviting a cartoon contest linked to the controversial caricatures of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The demonstrators held banners and Iranian flags, shouting slogans in support of Khamenei and denouncing the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo. They carried handmade placards that read phrases like France Shame and Bad Charlie Hebdo, and some protesters set French flags alight as a symbolic rebuke to the magazine at the heart of the issue.
The protests reflected a broader wave of anger that has swept the country, with crowds in multiple cities taking to the streets. In religious centers such as Qom, which stands as a focal point for Iran’s clerical establishment, demonstrations against Paris intensified, underscoring the political and religious dimensions of the dispute. The boycott and condemnation were framed by official rhetoric that ties freedom of expression in the West to offenses against sacred symbols and the nation’s sovereignty.
Charlie Hebdo had announced a December 8 cartoon contest aimed at supporting what it described as Iranians who are struggling for their freedom, a reference that followed widespread protests that began in September. The demonstrations drew comparisons to the movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, with many protesters voicing discontent over how religious dress codes are enforced and how rights are interpreted in public life.
Reports from Iran note that the scale of the unrest has produced a heavy toll: more than 500 people died, and several others were executed for their alleged roles in the protests that challenged the Islamic Republic and called for expanded civil liberties. In Tehran, officials condemned the cartoon contest and reiterated that such provocations could never be tolerated, arguing that they insult the nation’s Islamic values and national unity.
The Iranian government shut down the French Research Institute in Iran on the day after the announcement as a preliminary move in response to the contest. The closure was accompanied by a wave of denunciation from Tehran over what it called a deliberate silence by Paris about the affair, a silence that officials argued amounted to foreign interference in Iran’s internal affairs. In Paris, French officials defended press freedom while insisting that it did not mean supporting insults or provocations toward a country’s symbols and leadership.
France’s foreign minister spoke out on the issue, stressing the difference between upholding press freedom and endorsing actions that might harm another country’s dignity. She highlighted the importance of a free press in France while recognizing that such freedom does not always translate into universal endorsement of every action seen in public discourse. At the same time, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry urged Paris to respect the basic principles of international relations, including non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, framing the debate in terms of mutual respect and sovereignty.