UPDATE: Based on further research, this incident seems to have occured late last year, not during Rouhani's current trip to France. The Daily Mail seems to have taken an old story and repubished it with information about Rouhani's current trip, which is strange. I have updated the post. H/T Ed Morrissey
French President Francois Hollande was scheduled to host Iranian President Hassan Rouhani last year for lunch, but the meeting was cancelled after the Iranians demanded wine be banned from the table. Hollande refused. From Daily Mail:
A lunch between the French and Iranian presidents in Paris was scrapped today because France refused to remove wine from the menu.
The French insisted on serving local food and wine but the Iranians demanded a halal menu in keeping with their Muslim faith.
Hollande's officials said preparing the meal to be 'Iran friendly' went against France's republican values.
Wine, of course, is a staple in French culture. Under Islamic Sharia Law, the consumption of alcohol is strictly forbidden. On a separate note, before arriving in Paris on his current trip Rouhani justified the Charlie Hebdo terror attacks by saying free speech rights don't apply to criticism or disrespect of religion.
Earlier this week during Rouhani's visit to Italy, where he locked down $18 billion in new business deals, the Italian government covered up nude art statues and agreed to keep wine away from diplomatic meals to avoid offense.
Quite a sight: Nude ancient statues covered for the visit of Iran president Hassan Rouhani in #Rome pic.twitter.com/7qOcab3rJt
— Alessandro Speciale (@aspeciale) January 26, 2016I'll leave you with this:
And note to Italy: uncover those nude statues you groveling cowards.... https://t.co/QuOTMdSyLj
— Judith Miller (@JMfreespeech) January 28, 2016