AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: French interior minister stands by his remarks as critics denounced his comments as dangerous and xenophobic.
"I do not regret [the comments]," Claude Gueant said on Sunday, though he accused critics of taking them "out of context"
"Contrary to what the left's relativist ideology says, for us all civilisations are not of equal value," Gueant, who is also responsible for immigration, told a gathering of right-wing students on Saturday.
"Those which defend humanity seem to us to be more advanced than those that do not," he said.
"Those which defend liberty, equality and fraternity, seem to us superior to those which accept tyranny, the subservience of women, social and ethnic hatred," he said in his speech, a copy of which was obtained by the AFP news agency.
He also stressed the need to "protect our civilisation". » | Source: Agencies | Sunday, February 05, 2012
