A European Commission spokesman announced Tuesday that the call to boycott French products by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "is inconsistent with the spirit" of the diplomatic and trade agreements signed by Turkey with Brussels and will "further exclude" them from the European Union.

The spokesman said, "The European Union agreements with Turkey provide for the free exchange of goods. The bilateral obligations that Turkey pledged to adhere to within the framework of these agreements should be fully respected."

"The calls to boycott the products of each member state are inconsistent with the spirit of these obligations and will further exclude Turkey from the European Union," he added.

A customs union links the European Union with Turkey, which took effect on December 31, 1995.

According to the European Commission, in 2019 Turkey was the fifth trading partner of the European Union and "by a large difference" the first partner for Ankara.

Monday, Erdogan called for a boycott of French products, ahead of Islamic countries that have expressed their growing anger at Macron.

The escalation of tension between Turkey and France translated into Paris summoning its ambassador to Ankara Saturday for consultations.

The recent crisis erupted after Macron confirmed his country's adherence to the principle of freedom to publish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, during a ceremony honoring teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded October 16 by a Russian Chechen militant who slaughtered the history professor because he showed these drawings to his students at school during a class on freedom of expression.

Erdogan questioned Macron's "mental health" and accused him on Monday of "leading a hate campaign" against Muslims.

In the face of a barrage of Turkish criticism, the French president met with supportive reactions in Europe.

But in the Muslim world, his statements triggered angry demonstrations.