Protests in France against controversial cartoons

About 1,000 people have protested in Paris against the publication of cartoons in European newspapers depicting the prophet Mohammed, saying the drawings were an attack on Islam.

The demonstrators chanted "God is great" and "an attack on the prophet is an attack on all Muslims" as they marched for about three hours between two squares in the middle of the French capital.

The demonstrations came after angry Lebanese protestors torched the Danish consulate in Beirut on Sunday, further escalating the violent protests over the publication of the cartoons.

Police say the marchers had not notified the authorities about the demonstration, which passed off peacefully.

The publication of the cartoons depicting prophet Mohammed, which first appeared in a Danish newspaper in September 2005, has sparked angry protests and attacks against Western interests in parts of the Muslim world.

Islamic custom bans the use of images of the prophet.

Respect

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin intervened in the international uproar over irreverent cartoons of the prophet Mohammed with a call for respect for the sensitivities of other faiths.

"We must pay attention to what hurts, what can shock. There isn't the same idea, everywhere in the world, of what is holy and you have to take that into account," he said on French television.

But he condemned the "spiral of violence" in the protests over the cartoons.

"We are not living in any old time and we cannot act in the same way in all eras and all situations," he said, pointing to the "transparency of the world" resulting from the globalisation of the means of communication and information.

Mr Villepin says freedom had to be defended but says "it is a matter of knowing that there are sensitivities, different ways of living your religion, and taking that into account".

"Of course we must defend freedom but at the same time - and this is what living together is about - we must defend respect, respect of others ... in the name of tolerance."

Syria

Meanwhile, Denmark and Norway say their nationals have begun to leave Syria after protesters torched the buildings housing their embassies there in events the Danish Foreign Minister said were beyond comprehension.

Danes were also told to leave Lebanon while Norwegians there were advised to remain indoors.

"I am horrified to see the way violence and attacks are spreading throughout the Middle East," Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller told reporters on Sunday.

"The actions in Lebanon and Syria yesterday are beyond comprehension and totally unacceptable," he said.

Security fears

Some of the 70 Danes living in Syria left the country late on Saturday and others departed on Sunday, foreign ministry spokesman Lars Thuesen told AFP.

Those who had not yet left were advised to stay indoors "until we have found a way to get them out of there," he said.

Mr Thuesen says some Danes are reluctant to leave Syria as the situation appeared to calm down somewhat on Sunday.

But his Ministry insisted: "The situation is still critical for Danes there. Those who opt to stay must be very careful".

Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oeystein Boe told AFP officials in Oslo had been "working all night to contact our people and get them out" of Syria.

Twelve of the 90 or so Norwegian nationals in Syria had opted to leave for Oslo and 26 families had decided to stay put, he says.

Norwegian embassy staff, including the ambassador, were operating from a hotel in the Syrian capital on Sunday, under police protection.

Following the violence in Syria and attacks in Lebanon, where the Danish embassy was set ablaze on Sunday, Norway told all its embassies in Muslim countries to tighten security.

"We have sent out a precaution order to embassies in the Middle East and other countries with a large Muslim population to review their security contingency plans, to get in touch with the authorities and ask for extended security," Mr Boe said.

Norway also told its nationals living in Lebanon to remain indoors but has not as yet, advised them to leave the country.

Compensation

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg says he will ask Syria to pay compensation for the damage done to Oslo's embassy in Damascus.

"What happened in Syria is completely unacceptable. We are going to ask Syria for compensation and we will take the matter up at the UN," he told the national NTB news agency.

Mr Stoltenberg says he expects to talk to United Nations secretary-general Kofi Anna later on Sunday, as Denmark's Stig Moeller had done earlier in the day.

Mr Moeller says he is worried about the proportions the protests have taken.

"It is now a case that is much bigger than the issues of the drawings. Forces outside the political systems are now setting the agenda," he said.

Mr Moeller says he has asked the Syrian and Lebanese governments to investigate the events, which he says go beyond damaging the relationship between those governments and Denmark.

"It's damaging the whole diplomatic system if countries cannot be sure that their embassies are safe," he said.

Denmark demonstration

Meanwhile, hundreds of Danes gathered in Copenhagen's main square to appeal for "peaceful dialogue" to resolve the row.

The relaxed demonstration, which the organisers described as "apolitical and independent of different religious beliefs and cultures", was in stark contrast to the weekend scenes in Lebanon and Syria.

"These events are shocking and I am rattled. But we are here to show that many people simply want a peaceful dialogue," demonstrator Bruno Christensen said.

- AFP