Turkish Coup ‘No Carte Blanche’ for Purges, French FM Says, as Number of Arrests Reaches 6,000

France’s foreign minister has urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to respect the law and refrain from purges after the recent failed attempt by Turkish military officials to topple the government. Some 6,000 arrests have been made in just two days.

We had to condemn the coup in Turkey, this is the least we could do,” Jean-Marc Ayrault told France 3 TV channel.

 “But we want the rule of law to function fully, this is no carte blanche for Erdogan,” Ayrault said, according to RT.

Some 6,000 people – generals, judges and prosecutors among them – have been detained within the past 48 hours in connection with the coup. A chief military assistant to the president is reportedly among those arrested. The country’s justice minister, Bekir Bozdag, called the arrests “spring cleaning” and said more were still to come, according to broadcaster NTV.

French Foreign Minister Ayrault has criticized the moves, however, saying: “Do not resort to purges. Those who damaged democracy should be pursued within the framework of the law. We will continue to insist on the democratic treatment of coup sympathizers when we meet the Turks in Washington next week.”

H.M