Why Emmanuel Macron's attempt to reset relations with Russia will alienate his allies and come unstuck over Nato

<p>PARIS (AFP) - French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on Sunday (Dec 1) defended itself following outrage over cartoons about a deadly military helicopter crash in Mali, the day before a memorial service for the 13 dead soldiers. The magazine, which was itself the target of a devastating attack by Islamic extremists in January 2015, published the cartoons on its website. The French army's chief of staff General Thierry Burkhard expressed his "indignation" at the cartoons in response to last week's deaths. But Charlie Hebdo's editor Laurent "Riss" Sourisseau defended the magazines's "satirical spirit" on Sunday, while acknowledging the importance of the work of the French army. The soldiers died last Monday when the two military helicopters in which they were travelling collided and crashed during a night-time operation in Mali against militants. One of the five cartoons on Charlie Hebdo's website showed French President Emmanuel Macron standing in front of a coffin covered with<br/>[]<br/>ay loyal to its satirical, sometimes provocative spirit. "Nevertheless, I would like to say that we are aware of the importance of the work done by French soldiers to fight against terrorism," he added. The soldiers who died were serving with France's Barkhane mission helping local forces in the Sahel region of Africa fight the increasingly active jihadist forces in the region. Their bodies have been flown home and on Monday afternoon Macron will pay tribute to them in a special ceremony, which will also be attended by Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. As well as regularly attacking organised religion, Charlie Hebdo has a long tradition of anti-militarist satire. It is regularly denounced by its targets for going too far. Its depictions of the Prophet Mohammed led to outrage, death threats and ultimately violence. Two gunmen who claimed allegiance to Al-Qaeda killed 12 people in an attack on its offices in January 2015 in which many of its star cartoonists were killed.</p>

<p>PARIS (AFP) - French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on Sunday (Dec 1) defended itself following outrage over cartoons about a deadly military helicopter crash in Mali, the day before a memorial service for the 13 dead soldiers. The magazine, which was itself the target of a devastating attack by Islamic extremists in January 2015, published the cartoons on its website. The French army's chief of staff General Thierry Burkhard expressed his "indignation" at the cartoons in response to last week's deaths. But Charlie Hebdo's editor Laurent "Riss" Sourisseau defended the magazines's "satirical spirit" on Sunday, while acknowledging the importance of the work of the French army. The soldiers died last Monday when the two military helicopters in which they were travelling collided and crashed during a night-time operation in Mali against militants. One of the five cartoons on Charlie Hebdo's website showed French President Emmanuel Macron standing in front of a coffin covered with<br />[]<br />ay loyal to its satirical, sometimes provocative spirit. "Nevertheless, I would like to say that we are aware of the importance of the work done by French soldiers to fight against terrorism," he added. The soldiers who died were serving with France's Barkhane mission helping local forces in the Sahel region of Africa fight the increasingly active jihadist forces in the region. Their bodies have been flown home and on Monday afternoon Macron will pay tribute to them in a special ceremony, which will also be attended by Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. As well as regularly attacking organised religion, Charlie Hebdo has a long tradition of anti-militarist satire. It is regularly denounced by its targets for going too far. Its depictions of the Prophet Mohammed led to outrage, death threats and ultimately violence. Two gunmen who claimed allegiance to Al-Qaeda killed 12 people in an attack on its offices in January 2015 in which many of its star cartoonists were killed.</p>

<p>ARCHIV - 27.10.2018, Türkei, Istanbul: Recep Tayyip Erdogan (l), Staatspräsident der Türkei, und Emmanuel Macron, Präsident von Frankreich, nehmen an einer Pressekonferenz im Anschluss an den Vier-Wege-Gipfel zur Zukunft Syriens teil. Kurz vor dem Jubiläumsgipfel der Nato in London spitzen sich Spannungen zwischen Bündnispartnern weiter zu. Der türkische Präsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan warf am Freitag dem französischen Präsidenten Emmanuel Macron vor, eine «kranke Ideologie» zu verfolgen, weil dieser die Nato als hirntot bezeichnet hatte. (zu dpa «Zoff vor Nato-Gipfel: Erdogan wirft Macron «kranke Ideologie» vor») Foto: Oliver Weiken/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++</p>

<p>27.02.2019, Frankreich, Paris: Emmanuel Macron, Präsident von Frankreich, geht neben Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) nach einer Pressekonferenz bei ihrem Treffen im Schloss Elysee. Themen sind unter anderem die Vorbereitung des Frühlingsgipfels der EU im März, der Brexit und die deutsch-französische Zusammenarbeit in der Verteidigungspolitik. Foto: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters Pool/AP/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++</p>

<p>25.08.2019, Frankreich, Biarritz: Frankreichs Präsident Emanuel Macron (M hinten), spricht bei der ersten Arbeitssitzung beim G7-Gipfel während daneben (r im Uhrzeigersinn), Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU), Kanadas Premierminister Justin Trudeau, der britische Premierminister Boris Johnson, EU-Ratspräsident Donald Tusk, der amtierende Premierminister Italien, Giuseppe Conte, Japans Premierminister Shinzo Abe und US Präsident Donald Trump sitzen. Der G7-Gipfel findet vom 24.-26. August in Biarritz statt. Foto: Michael Kappeler/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++</p>

<p>30.09.2019, Frankreich, Paris: Emmanuel Macron, Präsident von Frankreich, steht vor dem Sarg von Frankreichs verstorbenen Präsidenten Jacques Chirac am Invalidendom. Mit einer großen Trauerfeier und Dutzenden Staatsgästen aus dem Ausland will Frankreich von seinem früheren Präsidenten Jacques Chirac in der Pariser Kirche Saint-Sulpice Abschied nehmen. Foto: Thibault Camus/AP/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++</p>