Macron: One killed in ‘racist terrorist attack’ in France
A 12-year-old girl was among the five other victims and was fighting in hospital, Macron said.
President Emmanuel Macron has described an attack in which one man was killed and five other people were targeted as a “racist terrorist attack”, after visiting Trappes in France.
Macron said the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office had classified the attack in those terms and had taken up the case alongside the prosecutor.
Speaking in French in Trappes on 23 October, the day of the attack, Macron said it was “a turning point in the life of our Republic and our nation”.
It was the first time, Macron said, that a planned terrorist act had been carried out to kill fellow citizens and children because of their skin colour or the religion attributed to them.
The man was killed that morning, Macron said, and the others were targeted because of their skin colour or supposed religion and for no other reason. The five other victims included a 12-year-old girl who was fighting in hospital as he spoke, the president said.
Macron thanked the security forces, saying officers had intervened immediately, stopped the attacker and prevented further victims. Municipal police in the two communes had also moved in and saved other lives, Macron said.
Asked by a reporter whether the attack was linked to rising tensions in society, Macron said it was for the national anti-terrorism prosecutor to explain the attack.
In another answer, Macron said it was “a fact” that racism had taken hold in public discourse and that the president had always fought it.
Asked about a police deployment in the area, Macron said it was there to prevent public disorder and that everyone in Trappes, La Verrière and the department was traumatised. Macron urged people not to fall into the trap of one camp against another.
Macron did not name the attacker, saying the magistrates would give the details. The names of the victims would be released in due course, the president said, as some families were still being told.
The Republic, Macron said, never discriminates against its citizens because of their skin colour, their religion or their political opinions.
Macron told residents of the affected communes that “the Republic will hold”, and appealed for unity: “Neither fear nor anger.”
