Prime Minister Joseph Muscat today cautioned against turning the attack on a satirical magazine in Paris into a clash of civilisations.

Speaking during the Labour Party's New Year drinks for the media, the social partners and civil society, Dr Muscat said there was consensus in Malta that freedom of expression should be defended.

However, one should not use the incident to put moderate Islam elements off integrating.

One should not group people in baskets but there should be a coalition of people of goodwill.

“We should not allow such incidents to take us down the road of prejudice,” he said.

Dr Muscat also spoke on the forthcoming election in Greece saying the vote could have an impact on the Eurozone.

He said he believed the resilience of the Eurozone would enable it to overcome the uncertainty cause by Greek vote but the government had to ensure that the Maltese tax payers were not short charged.

Syriza, the leading party in Greece, has pledged to renegotiate the bailout programme and was threatening to renege on its commitment, he noted.