Protests greet Erdogan on first France visit since crackdown

PARIS – Protests over press freedom and the deteriorating state of human rights in Turkey greeted Turkish President Recep Tayyip as he arrived in Paris on Friday for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The trip is Erdogan's first to France since his government strongly cracked down on suspected opponents following a failed coup in July 2016. About 50,000 people have been arrested and 110,000 others removed from public sector jobs in Turkey.

About 30 activists from watchdog group Reporters without Borders held images of jailed journalists outside the Turkish Embassy. A dozen demonstrators, mainly ethnic Kurds, later tried to reach the presidential Elysee palace, but police pushed them back onto a side street.