ごみ分別ポスターにイラン最高指導者ら、非難受け撤去 南仏

【ベジエ（フランス）ＡＦＰ＝時事】南仏の都市ベジエは９日、イランの最高指導者アリ・ハメネイ師とロシアのウラジーミル・プーチン大統領、北朝鮮の金正恩（キム・ジョンウン）朝鮮労働党総書記の顔写真を使ってごみの分別を呼びかけるポスターを撤去した。ポスターをめぐってはイラン政府が「侮辱的」と非難していた。（写真は、フランス南部ベジエを走るバスに掲示されたごみの分別を呼びかけるポスター）
　「ゴミの分別を忘れないで」と書かれたこのポスターは、市内を走るバスの車体に掲示されていた。
　国営イラン通信（ＩＲＮＡ）によると、イラン外務省がこのポスターを「攻撃的」だと強く非難した。
　ベジエの極右市長ロベール・メナール氏は、ポスターは冗談で作られたものだと主張する一方、「予防措置」として撤去を命じた。
　ＡＦＰに対し、「非常に真剣に受け止めている。例えば、バスの運転士に少しでも問題が起きるのは避けたい」と語った。
　それでもメナール氏はポスターを擁護し、その挑発的なメッセージによって廃棄物処理が「実際に直面している問題」への注目が集まったとコメント。
　「これまでに多くの啓発活動を行ってきたが、何も達成できなかった。誰も見向きもしなかった。今回は少なくとも皆に認知された」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/01/10-18:04）

A French city on Thursday removed posters depicting Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after Tehran called the images insulting, in the latest incident in a period of strained relations between the two countries.
The southern city of Beziers ran a campaign on buses calling for selective sorting of waste using portraits of Iran's Khamenei, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The posters -- splashed with the slogan Don't forget to sort the trash -- sparked a forceful condemnation from Iran's foreign ministry, which called the campaign offensive, according to the official IRNA news agency.
Beziers' far-right mayor, Robert Menard, insisted the flyers were created in jest but ordered the posters removed as a precautionary measure.
We take this very seriously. I don't want there to be the slightest problem, for example, for our bus drivers, Menard told AFP.
But he did defend the flyers, even saying their provocative message brought attention to the real problem of waste management.
We've run lots of campaigns, but they never achieve anything. Nobody even notices them. This one, at least, everyone noticed, said Menard.
-'Flagrant violation'-
Iran's foreign ministry also called on the French government to take the appropriate measures to prevent the repetition of such provocative actions.
The use of offensive content against officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a flagrant violation of internationally accepted principles and rules based on respect for cultural values of other nations, said the director general for Western Europe, Majid Nili.
Relations are already strained between the two countries, with France on Tuesday urging its citizens to avoid travelling to Iran until French nationals held there have been released.
French authorities say three of their citizens are held in Iran and call them hostages.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said Iran was the main strategic and security challenge for France, the Europeans, the entire region and beyond.
He added that Iran would be a key topic of discussion with US President-elect Donald Trump's administration, which will take office on January 20.
Iran called the remarks baseless and urged France to reconsider its non-constructive approaches to peace and stability.