Protesters hold placards as they take part in a protest against French president Emmanuel Macron in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Reuters

Gulf Today Report

Huge crowds took to the streets of Dhaka on Monday to condemn the French President Emmanuel Macron's defence of the right to publish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

South Asian Muslims vented their fury at France and torched an effigy of the French president over his recent remarks on Islam.

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A rally which started at Bangladesh's biggest mosque was stopped from getting close to the French embassy where security has been stepped up.

Protesters march towards a French embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Monday. Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters

Police estimated some 50,000 people took part in the protest, which demanded a boycott of French products, while organisers said there were more than 100,000.

Smaller anti-France protests also took place in the Middle East.

The third major anti-France demonstration in Bangladesh in the past week was called by Hefazat-i-Islami, one of the biggest radical Muslim political groups in the country of 160 million people.

Protesters burn an effigy of French president Emmanuel Macron in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Monday. Reuters

Many people came from towns outside Dhaka to take part in the rally.

Junaid Babunagaori, the firebrand deputy chief of Hezafat, called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to move the Bangladesh parliament to condemn Macron.