‘Sofagate’ protest in France: ‘We support Ursula von der Leyen’

* Photo: euronews

Click to read the article in Turkish

Women have expressed their solidarity and support for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was not given an equal seat at the Presidency of Turkey, to which she and European Council Chair Charles Michel paid an official visit on April 5, 2021.

Gathering in front of Turkey's Embassy in the capital city of Paris, women have protested Turkey for failing to give an equal seat to Ursula von der Leyen with Charles Michel and President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Protesting in front of Turkey's Embassy in Paris, the women have also sat on the chairs that they brought with them. 

NO COMMENT | Paris'te bir grup kadın AB Komisyonu Başkanı von der Leyen'e yer gösterilmemesini Türkiye Büyükelçiliği önünde protesto etti

Protestocular elçilik binası önüne getirdikleri sandalyelerde oturdu #SofaGate

— euronews Türkçe (@euronews_tr) April 12, 2021

'We support Ursula'

One of the women said during the protest:

"We are here because Ursula did not have a seat. That is why we are supporting her. We are not very crowded here, because it would be easier to do it secretly, without creating a big wave. But the fact that we are not crowded does not mean that we do not have the strength to defend women's equality in countries that are more complex than France."

What happened?

Sergey Lagodinsky, the Chair of the Delegation to the European Union (EU) - Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, drew attention to the fact that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was not given an equal seat during her and European Council President Charles Michel's visit to ruling AKP Chair and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

In a video shared by Lagodinsky on Twitter shortly after the meeting at the Presidency on April 6, 2021, it was seen that Erdoğan and Michel sat on two equal seats across each other while von der Leyen remained standing for some time, to which she responded with "Ehm."

Lagodinsky has said, "'Ehm' is the new term for 'that's not how EU-Turkey relationship should be'. #GiveHerASeat #EU #Turkey #womensrights"

"Ehm" is the new term for "that's not how EU-Turkey relationship should be". #GiveHerASeat #EU #Turkey #womensrights pic.twitter.com/vGVFutDu0S

— Sergey Lagodinsky (@SLagodinsky) April 6, 2021

Von der Leyen's spokesperson Eric Mamer said, "President (von der Leyen) should have been seated in exactly the same manner as the president of the European Council and the Turkish president."

Sophie in 't Veld, a member of the European Parliament, also tweeted previous pictures where Erdoğan was seen to be hosting European Council and European Commission Presidents on equal seats. "And no, it wasn't a coincidence it was deliberate," she commented.

The controversial arrangement of seats at the meeting of two top EU officials with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara was made in line with the EU's requests, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, making a statement about the issue later.

"In the latest bilateral talks, which took place at the presidential complex, the European Union side's requests were fulfilled," Çavuşoğlu told reporters on April 8. "I would like to state that the EU's requests were satisfied and fulfilled. This was their wish," he added. (EMK/SD)