Her lawyer Richard Malka has accused the left of failing to defend secular values

The girl, known as Mila, said Islam is 'a s*** religion' and the Koran is 'full of hate'

The French teenager who received death threats after footage of her saying that Islam was a 's**t' religion went viral online has come out of hiding to defend her strong atheist convictions.

The teenager, identified only as Mila, appeared on the French TV programme Quotidien last night to say she 'does not regret' her comments.

It comes after France's left-wing elite was criticised for failing to support a 16-year-old girl who has faced death threats for insulting Islam.

The teenager, identified only as Mila, appeared on the French TV programme Quotidien on Monday evening to say she 'does not regret' her comments

Mila est notre invitée dans #Quotidien pour sa seule et unique interview. pic.twitter.com/cZ1VqObHrR — Quotidien (@Qofficiel) February 3, 2020

She was removed from her sixth-form college in Lyon, south-east France, by police 'for her own safety' and has faced a torrent of insults and threats to rape and kill her.

During the interview Mila defended her right to her strong atheist convictions. She said: 'I would like to clarify that... I would like to come back to the subject about the fact that I absolutely do not regret what I said, that it was really what I thought.'

Then show host Yann Barhes says: 'That you don't regret the right to blaspheme?'

Mila replies: 'Yes, that's right. The right to blaspheme. And I don't have to hide for this reason. I don't have to stop living for this.

'But I would still like to say that in some way I am a little bit sorry towards the people who I might have hurt who practise their religion in peace, and I never wanted to target human beings.

'I simply wanted to... blaspheme... I wanted to talk about a religion, and say what I thought about it, and that's all.'

Mila also told the show host: 'There are two things I regret in this story. The first is that I said it on social media because I had not taken into account how big it could get and [I also regret] having said it in such a vulgar way, because I could have argued my point better.'

When asked by Yann Barthes: 'Could you have said these words about another religion?'

Mila replies: 'Yes, of course.'

Barthes then asks: 'Have you always been an atheist?'

And Mila replies: 'I have always been an atheist.'

Barthes then says: 'The law says something very simple. One can insult a religion but not citizens because of their religious beliefs. And you say in the video "one cannot be racist towards a religion." Is this a question you had already thought about?'

Mila replies: 'Yes, of course.'

Barthes says: 'To be so on point.'

Mila then replies: 'There is a difference between religion and people. And people who are not capable of telling the difference are morons.'

Mila (pictured) was removed from her sixth-form college in Lyon, south-east France, by police 'for her own safety' and has faced a torrent of insults and threats to rape and kill her

Mila's original post, which went viral online, caused heated debate in France, where the country's left-wing elite has been accused of cowardice for not speaking out in defence of the teenager, who faced death threats for insulting Islam.

Police reportedly told her that it is too dangerous for her to return to her high school and she is said to be struggling to find another that would be willing to take her in.

Richard Malka, her lawyer, told The Times: 'It is the left that traditionally defends secularism in this country. It saddens me that it has not done so in this case', adding that her situation had been ignored by feminist and left-wing groups, which are usually quick to defend female victims of verbal and physical violence.

Mila told French publication Bellica how she feels 'the whole of France wants me dead' after no one stood up for her following the attacks, and as though she can 'no longer set foot in my high school, and I can't even change my high school'.

The teenager's lawyer, Richard Malka, said her plight has been completely ignored by the left, and accused them of disregarding the values laid down by Voltaire in the 18th century

The threats came about after Mila, who loves singing and whose profile is adorned with an LGBT flag, was talking with her followers on Instagram and one of them reportedly began harassing her.

After rebuffing the follower's advances, he reportedly began insulting her with homophobic attacks and accusations of racism.

Then the attacks took a religious tone, with some users reportedly accusing Mila of insulting 'our God Allah, the one and only' and hoping that she would 'burn in hell.'

It is then that Mila decided to post footage criticising religion in general and Islam.

'I hate religion, [...] there is nothing but hate in the Koran, Islam is s**t, that's what I think,' she said in the videos posted to her Instagram stories on January 19.

'I am not racist, not at all. You cannot be racist towards a religion. I said what I thought, you will not make me regret it. There are still people who will get excited, I clearly don't give a damn, I say what I want, what I think.'

French media point out that under French law, Mila has done nothing illegal, there being no restrictions on 'blasphemy' in France.

The prosecutor's office in Vienne, near Lyon, is understood to be investigating the comments on Mila's profile in an attempt to identify the perpetrators of the abuse against her.