A Turkish police vehicle is seen outside Dutch Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, March 12, 2017. Some 150 to 200 people holding Turkish national flags gathered in front of Dutch Embassy in Ankara on late Saturday to protest Dutch bans on Turkish politicians from holding rallies in Netherlands ahead of April 16 constitutional referendum. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)

PARIS, March 12 (Xinhua) -- France on Sunday called for de-escalation of tensions between Turkey and some European Union (EU) countries over Ankara's political campaigning among Turkish immigrants, French top diplomat Jean-Marc Ayrault said.

"Given the current tensions between Turkey and several member states of the European Union, France calls for calm," Ayrault said in a statement. "France also calls on the Turkish authorities to avoid excesses and provocations."

Ayrault's remarks came after the Netherlands joined other EU members in stopping Turkish politicians from holding rallies on their own soil out of fears that tensions in Turkey might be exported into their own communities.

Dutch authorities on Saturday banned Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu from flying to Rotterdam to attend a rally with Turkish nationals, and later that day stopped Turkish Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya from entering the Turkish consulate there before escorting her out of the country to Germany.

Earlier on Sunday, Cavusoglu held a meeting with the Turkish community in Metez, eastern France as part of Ankara's political campaigning for a referendum in April.

"In the absence of a proven threat to public order, there was no reason to prohibit the meeting," the French foreign minister said.