France banned protests on Friday against cartoons published by a satirical magazine denigrating Mohammad as part of a security clamp-down while prayers took place across the Muslim world.Interior Minister Manuel Valls said prefects had orders to prevent any protest and to crack down if the ban was challenged. He said, "There will be strictly no exceptions. Demonstrations will be banned and broken up."
Mohammed Moussaoui, head of the French Muslim Council, called both the film and the cartoons "acts of aggression" but urged French Muslims not to protest in the streets. He said, "I repeat the council's call not to protest. Any protest could be hijacked and counterproductive."
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said there had been anti-French demonstrations in Afghanistan, Egypt and Indonesia, but there were no incidents against French nationals. He said, "In a certain number of countries, the measures (closures) will be kept in place as a precaution on Saturday and Sunday."