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Ties between France and Iran have deteriorated in recent months
as efforts to revive nuclear talks, to which France is one of
the parties, have stalled and Tehran has detained seven of its
nationals.
Charlie Hebdo this week published dozens of cartoons depicting
the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
which it said aimed to support anti-government protests sparked
by the death of a young woman in September while in the custody
of morality police.
Speaking to LCI TV, Colonna said it was Iran that was pursuing
bad policies through its violence against its population and
detention of French nationals.
"Let's remember that in France press freedom exists contrary to
what's happening in Iran and that this (freedom) is overseen by
a judge within the framework of an independent judiciary, which
is something that Iran without doubt doesn't know well," she
said, adding that there were no blasphemy laws in France.
Facing their worst legitimacy crisis since the 1979 Islamic
Revolution, Iran's religious leaders have accused its foreign
foes of orchestrating the anti-government mass protests to
destabilise the country.
The Charlie Hebdo cartoons triggered an angry response from Iran
with Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian warning that the
"offensive and indecent" move would receive a firm response from
Tehran. He accused the French government of going too far.
The magazine said it published the caricatures in a special
edition to mark the anniversary of a deadly attack on its Paris
office on Jan. 7, 2015 by Islamist militants, after the weekly
had published cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammed.
(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
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