French man kills Tunisian neighbour in suspected racist attack in Puget-sur-Argens
A French man killed a Tunisian neighbour in Puget-sur-Argens, southeastern France, on Saturday evening and wounded a Turkish man, the local prosecutor's office said on Sunday.
The suspect "shared two videos on his social media account containing racist and hateful content before and after his attack," the prosecutor said in a statement.
'Today I'm cleaning,' the killer reportedly said in one of the videos.
According to the prosecutor's office, it has opened an investigation into the charges of murder committed "because of the victim's true or supposed membership or non-membership of a specific ethnic group, nation, alleged race or religion, committed concurrently with another crime, and attempted murder."
According to a source, who spoke to AFP, the deceased man, in his 30s, was hit by five bullets.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
The 53-year-old suspect, who is in police custody, is a sports shooter. Several weapons were found in his vehicle, "including an automatic pistol, a shotgun and a handgun," the prosecutor said.
On Sunday night, the SOS Racisme association denounced in a communique that "racism has struck again in our country.
'These crimes thrive in a poisoned climate: trivialisation of racist discourse, media complacency towards the far right and worrying institutional signals,' the statement read.
"The double crime that struck two men in Puget-sur-Argens is not a bolt from the blue. It is the result of meticulous work carried out by the racist camp, aimed at once again legitimising the expression of racism in words and deeds."
"Faced with this sinister development, it is urgent that political leaders and the media stop ignoring anti-racist discourse, when they are not working to marginalise it," the NGO's president, Dominique Sopo, said, warning that France was 'on the eve of a shift that, in reality, is already underway."
Rise in hate crimes
The case recalls the murder of Aboubakar Cisse, a 22-year-old Malian man stabbed to death while he was praying in a mosque in La Grand-Combe, in southern France, on 25 April.
The attacker inflicted 57 stab wounds on his victim while filming the scene and uttering Islamophobic remarks.
"I did it [...]. Your shitty Allah, your shitty Allah", declared the killer, Olivier Hadzovic, who was later indicted and imprisoned for "murder based on religion". The terrorist motivation requested by the victim's family and their lawyer was not retained.
After the murder, President Emmanuel Macron declared that "racism and religious hatred have no place in France," while Prime Minister Francois Bayrou called the attack an "unspeakable Islamophobic act".
Rallies were organised throughout the country to denounce Islamophobic violence and the perceived unequal treatment of hate crimes.
French Muslims find 'Islamophobic' violence is overlooked after mosque murder Read More »
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, known for his tough stance on migrants and what he calls the fight against "political Islam," was particularly criticised for failing to issue an immediate statement.
Retailleau also refused to recognise the Islamophobic nature of the attack, sparking a debate over the term itself, which he wrongly said was coined by the Muslim Brotherhood.
After the murder, Abdallah Zekri, vice president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) and chairman of the Observatory Against Islamophobia, told Middle East Eye that the characterisation of the murder should be unequivocal.
"This is an Islamophobic crime, the worst of all those committed in France against our community," he told MEE.
"After the desecration of graves, vandalism of Muslim places of worship and businesses, insults and physical violence, they are now killing worshippers inside mosques," he added, in reference to numerous incidents that have targeted French mosques in recent years, including arson attacks and pig heads found at their doors.
According to the National Directorate of Territorial Intelligence, anti-Muslim acts have increased by 72 percent in the first trimester when compared to the same period last year.
Zekri said the murder was "the result of a growing stigmatisation of Muslims in France," fuelled by the shift to the right of the political class and the growth of Islamophobic rhetoric.
On Sunday, following the latest hate crime, the leader of the left-wing France Unbowed party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, denounced on X an "infamous racist murder."
"Let us not allow officials to stir up racist hatred by legitimising it. This is a message of compassion for the attacked family. All informed French people think the same and note the dangerous failure of Bruno Retailleau."
The latter reacted to the crime on Monday, expressing "[his] compassion for the victim's loved ones and [his] solidarity with the Tunisian community in France for this unbearable crime."
"The investigation will determine whether the racist nature of these acts is established, but videos published by the perpetrator leave no doubt on this point."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Israel deports international activists from occupied West Bank
The Israeli authorities are deporting two international activists who were documenting settler violence against Palestinians in Masafer Yatta, in the southern occupied West Bank. Swedish citizen Susanne Bjork and Irish citizen Deirdre Murphy were arrested on 31 May in the village of Khallet al-Daba, where they had been filming settler attacks against its Palestinian residents. The two women, who are both UK residents, arrived weeks after the hamlet had been razed by Israeli bulldozers, in what residents described as the 'biggest demolition' the village had ever seen. Shortly after, settlers raided the village, forcing families out of their homes and establishing an illegal outpost on the edge of the community. Since then, the remaining villagers have been subjected to daily settler attacks. 'Women and children were moving out of their houses because of the harassment,' Bjork told Middle East Eye. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'The settlers come with their sheep and go round the houses terrifying the locals'. On 30 May, while attempting to document this, Bjork was assaulted by settlers who stole her phone. Israel to take full control of land registry in West Bank's Area C, cementing annexation Read More » 'We'd been filming and following them for hours. And then two of them attacked me and robbed me of my phone,' she said. The pair then called the police. Shortly after, Israeli police arrived along with the military, who Bjork said had likely been contacted by the settlers. The police took their statement, and instructed the pair to go to the police station in Hebron the next morning. 'Neither the army or the police said that we weren't allowed to be in the area,' Bjork said. The two women spent the night at the village. The following morning, at around 6:30am, they were awoken by three masked soldiers banging on the door, instructing them to leave as they were in a 'firing zone'. 'They gave us 10 seconds to get out,' Bjork said. The soldiers took their passports and instructed them to gather their belongings and leave the house they were staying in. The two complied, asking for permission to leave the village so they could report to the police station. The soldiers agreed and handed back their passports. But as they were trying to leave, they were stopped by a man driving an all-terrain vehicle, claiming to be a soldier. While he was wearing fatigues, he did not have official Israeli forces insignia on his clothing. 'He wouldn't identify himself, and so we wouldn't give him our passports, but he wouldn't let us continue on to leave the firing zone,' Bjork told MEE. 'He wouldn't let us go back to the soldiers. We didn't know who he was, so I then again called the police,' she said. Tourists documenting war crimes The police arrived and took them to the station where they were detained and interrogated. 'They said that we hadn't shown ID when asked, that we hadn't left the area and complied with instructions,' Bjork said. 'We were asking them, 'What are you doing? These are children.' They said, 'No, they are terrorists - they run too fast"' - Susanne Bjork During their interrogation, two Palestinian boys were brought into the station, handcuffed and zip-tied. 'We were asking them, 'What are you doing? These are children,'' Bjork said. 'They said, 'No, they are terrorists - they run too fast.'' Bjork and Murphy were released that night, but instructed to report to Ben Gurion Airport's immigration authority the next day for a hearing. At the airport, they were told that if they agreed to leave voluntarily, they would be driven across the border to Jordan, but the pair refused as there would be no official paper trail. They were then threatened with 72 hours in detention prior to deportation. 'So they'd already made their minds up about the deportation,' Bjork said. The two were interrogated and told that they had 'intimidated and humiliated police and soldiers'. 'The immigration officer said to me, 'I don't believe anything you're saying,'' Bjork told MEE. Bjork was then told her visa was cancelled, that she was there illegally and was now detained. Bjork opted to get the first flight out, while Murphy continues to be detained in order to contest the order. 'She wanted to stay in detention because we hadn't done anything wrong. The police report was full of inaccurate information and she wants to highlight the injustice of it all'. Days after Bjork and Murphy's arrests, Basel Adra, co-director of No Other Land, an Oscar-winning film about Israel's control of the West Bank, reported that masked soldiers barred international journalists from entering Khallet al-Daba. 'This is just a tactic for the occupation to stop anyone trying to document what's happening to these communities,' Bjork said. 'We were tourists just documenting war crimes,' she added. 'I asked one of the soldiers why they were masked. One of them said 'If we're not masked, it's too difficult for us to travel abroad'. So in effect, they were admitting to committing war crimes.' A new policy Khallet al-Daba has had to contend with years of settler violence. The hamlet is one of 19 Palestinian villages facing demolition in Masafa Yatta, which was designated a 'firing zone' for military practice in the 1980s. In May 2022, despite multiple appeals from residents, the Israeli High Court ruled that Palestinians are not permanent residents, and, in so doing, removed the last legal barriers to their forced transfer. Israeli forces regularly demolish buildings that the authorities say were illegally built in the area, which is home to over 1,000 Palestinian residents. Since Israel's war on Gaza was launched in October 2023, state-backed settler attacks and demolitions have skyrocketed across the occupied West Bank, while illegal settler outposts have proliferated. The Israeli authorities have also increasingly targeted international activists in the occupied West Bank for deportation in the last 18 months. Masafer Yatta: An Israeli firing zone and the ancient Palestinian village fighting for survival Read More » In 2024, far-right Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir created a special task force to 'deal with anarchists who harm state security'. Israeli media reported that the task force was formed in response to US and EU-imposed sanctions against settlers and their illegal outposts. According to an anonymous security official quoted by the Israeli news site Ynet, the targeted 'anarchists' include 'foreign nationals who come here from all over the world straight to the territories and create provocations' against Israeli soldiers. Bjork has been travelling to the occupied West Bank regularly over the past decade, but this is the first time she has faced arrest and deportation. 'We were quite shocked, this seems to be a new policy,' Bjork told MEE. 'Before, you would just get a ban from entering the occupied West Bank'. Murphy and Bjork's arrests follow that of Janet Adyeri, another British activist, in at-Tuwani, another Masafer Yatta village. Israeli police said she had entered a 'closed military zone'. A BBC report said that during her interrogation, 'she was found to have posted anti-[Israeli army] sentiments on social media and to belong to an organisation calling for the boycott of Israel'. Adyeri was deported shortly after. Bjork warned that the arrests of activists and the barring of journalists from the occupied West Bank will reduce scrutiny on the escalating displacement and harassment of Palestinians there. 'The Palestinians are just left to fend for themselves. There really needs to be some international protection for these communities…they are being harassed and attacked every day. And as soon as someone stands in solidarity with them and tries to document it, we are also removed,' Bjork said.
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Exclusive: Greece to lobby Egypt against Haftar endorsing Turkey-Libya maritime deal
Greece is expected to ask Egypt to intervene to dissuade the government in eastern Libya backed by General Khalifa Haftar from ratifying a maritime agreement with Turkey, Middle East Eye can reveal. Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis is expected to raise the issue with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty on Wednesday, two regional officials with knowledge of the matter told Middle East Eye. Libya's internationally recognised government in Tripoli signed a contentious maritime demarcation agreement with Turkey in 2019 that ignored Greece's claims to exclusive economic zones, including via major Greek islands like Crete and Rhodes. Greece countered that maritime agreement the next year by signing its own deal with Egypt. Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has opposed Turkey's ambitions for years and is backed by Cairo along with the UAE. Any move by eastern Libya to endorse Turkey's position would represent a sea change for the eastern Mediterranean, where regional actors hope to develop potentially lucrative natural gas deposits. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters It would be a major boost for Ankara's bid to assert itself as the dominant maritime power in the region as it would put all of Libya's factions in line with Turkey's claims. If the deal is pursued it could reawaken maritime tensions in the region which saw Greece and Turkey edge close to conflict in the summer of 2020. Greece and Cyprus are already alarmed. But any recognition of Turkey's maritime claims could also irk Israel. Greece, Cyprus and Israel want to develop gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean and build a subsea electrical inter-connector, but those projects have stalled. If Haftar-controlled eastern Libya ratifies the maritime deal, it could provide cover to Syria's new government to strike its own accord with Ankara that includes Northern Cyprus, a breakaway region whose independence is recognised only by Turkey, one of the regional officials told MEE. Saddam Haftar opens dialogue with Turkey Eastern Libya would also find itself in direct confrontation with the Egypt-Greece maritime agreement. Cairo did not recognise all of Greece's claims to exclusive economic zones via its islands in that 2020 agreement, but a wide swath of it contradicts the Turkey-Tripoli deal. The Tobruk-based Libyan House of Representatives in June established a committee to review the deal Tripoli endorsed. Israel's Netanyahu lobbying US against F-35 sale to Turkey, sources say Read More » Just a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable for Haftar-controlled eastern Libya to consider signing a maritime deal with Turkey. The shift represents just how fast the region is reordering itself. In 2019, Haftar launched a months-long offensive to take Tripoli with the backing the UAE, Egypt and Russia. Turkey successfully intervened to defend its ally, sending mercenaries, soldiers and drones. But Khalifa Haftar is now courting Turkish support. In April, his son and potential successor, Saddam, paid a landmark visit to Ankara. Libya's eastern and western governments are jockeying for influence and access to the country's oil riches - the largest in Africa. Greece was able to lean on Egypt in 2020 to counter Turkey because ties between Ankara and Cairo were strained. Libya was just one flashpoint in the relationship. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi came to power after leading a 2013 military coup, that overthrew Egypt's democratically elected Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi. He was an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As late as 2019, Erdogan refused to recognise Sisi's legitimacy. However, in recent years Ankara and Cairo have patched up ties. Any effort by Egypt to lobby eastern Libya against the Turkey deal could inflame tensions in the recently thawed relationship.
Middle East Eye
3 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Eid al-Adha: Moroccans asked to ‘abstain' from sacrifice as faith meets financial reality
For the first time under Mohammed VI, Moroccans are observing Eid al-Adha without the ritual of animal sacrifice, following a royal directive amid deepening economic hardship and an agricultural crisis. Eid al-Adha is one of the most sacred days for Muslims worldwide, and Morocco is no exception. However this year, the occasion, which will be celebrated on 7 June in the North African country, is expected to look quite different. The religious day commemorates the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son at God's command. Muslims mark this Eid by killing a sheep or other animals, sharing the meat among family and donating some meat to those less fortunate. However, after seven years of dry weather, Morocco's sheep herds have reduced by 38 percent, which has drastically increased the price of sheep. Last year, prices reached around $600 or $7-7.5 per kilo. On the other hand, the minimum wage in the kingdom in 2025 is 3,100 dirhams a month ($335), making the cost of sheep out of reach for many. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters In response, King Mohammed VI announced in February through a letter read by the minister of Islamic affairs that families should 'abstain' from slaughtering a sheep this year and that the king would perform the Eid sacrifice on behalf of the people. 'Performing it under these difficult circumstances would cause real harm to many of our people, particularly those with limited income,' the letter read. Such an announcement had not been made since the rule of late King Hassan, who cancelled the Eid sacrifice three times during his reign for similar reasons or in the aftermath of the 1963 Sand War with neighbouring Algeria. The king in Morocco has the highest authority in the state. As the Commander of the Faithful (known as Amir al-Muminin), he has precedence over decisions including religious activity. 'Help recover the national herd' Mohammed Jadri, a Moroccan economist and director of the Observatory of Government Action, a private monitoring organisation, believes the cancellation of the sacrifice could generally be beneficial. 'We know today that the purchasing power of many citizens has severely declined. Therefore, cancelling Eid al-Adha could spare these individuals from spending financial resources,' he told Middle East Eye. '[Cancelling the sacrifice would] ease the burden on those who suffered last year, where livestock reached record levels exceeding $500-600 per head' - Mohammed Jadri, economist Cancelling the sacrifice would 'ease the burden on those who suffered last year, where livestock reached record levels exceeding $500 to $600 per head,' he added. Small-scale farmers and agricultural workers will be the most impacted by the royal decree, the economist said. 'Rural communities rely heavily on the Eid al-Adha season, especially during dry agricultural years. For many, Eid is an opportunity to make up for losses in farming and crop production.' Normally, each Eid, 230,000 heads of livestock are slaughtered. 'Our livestock population is not expected to fully recover before 2027, so not slaughtering sheep this year could help recover the national herd,' Jadri said. A herd of sheep walk over cracked earth at al-Massira dam in Ouled Essi Masseoud village, in August 2022 amidst Morocco's worst drought in at least 40 years (Fadel Senna/AFP) In response to the king's announcement, the government launched an initiative to assist agricultural workers. Minister of Agriculture Ahmed El Bouari said on 22 May in a press briefing that the government would earmark 700 million dirhams ($76.5m) to restructure the sector and cancel debt owed by 50,000 livestock farmers. Small-scale farmers constitute 75 percent of those who will benefit from the debt relief. Female livestock will also be registered and farmers keeping them from slaughter will receive 400 dirhams ($43) in compensation, El Bouari added. No signs of Eid Fatima, who runs a laundrette business in Rabat, talked about the emotional and financial weight for those who cannot afford a sheep. 'This is not a normal situation for Morocco, I know many families who cannot buy a sheep this year,' she told MEE, describing the feeling as very 'dehumanising for these families'. For her, the king's statement signalled strong leadership. 'If you didn't know better, you wouldn't guess Eid is around the corner' - Abdelali, from the rural Benslimane province 'The king's words show he is reflecting on the issue in Morocco and acting, he is showing true Islamic values in practice by taking the pressure off people and thinking of the less fortunate. This is a beautiful thing,' she said. Normally, a month or even more leading up to Eid, huge signs line the supermarket aisles advertising the necessities for the celebration, including sharp knives, grills and meat skewers for barbecues. Abdelali, from the rural Benslimane province, highlighted the notable reduction in Eid-related marketing and equipment leading up to the event this year. 'I'm in a Marjane chain supermarket right now. Eid tools are barely being displayed, space is minimal compared to previous years, and the marketing is discreet, if not absent,' he told MEE. 'If you didn't know better, you wouldn't guess Eid is around the corner.' According to Abdelali, going against the king's will to abstain from Eid sacrifice 'would cause even more outrage among social circles". 'The prayers will still be done, families will still reunite, only the blade will remain clean,' he said. Highlighting inequalities While many Moroccans appear to perceive the king's decision as a wise measure, in a country where public criticism of the monarch is rare, others with the financial means have found ways around the decision. Slaughterhouses in Casablanca and other major cities have been overwhelmed for several days. Sheep breeders and middlemen reportedly use the officially approved slaughterhouses to circumvent the restrictions imposed on the weekly markets where they planned to sell their animals. As a consequence, some limitations have been put in place, such as increased policing of sheep-selling markets, but no complete ban from the palace has been issued. Morocco: Hopelessness and social media drive youth to risk their lives to reach Europe Read More » Ahmed, from the southern Souss-Massa region, told MEE his family managed to buy two sheep this year. On a normal Eid, buying a sheep gives the family a sense of pride. Boasting about the size of the sheep - or posing for pictures with the dead carcass to post on social media - is common. But this year, there is a shift. Ahmed said his family will perform Eid quietly and will not be sharing pictures. 'This year Eid feels complicated as we know others cannot celebrate, it makes me feel awkward,' he said. 'We'll make sure to invite anyone who doesn't have a sheep from our community to our house for a barbecue. We will practise the teaching that it's good to share, and donate one-third of the meat for charity and one-third to friends.' This Eid has further highlighted Morocco's unequal wealth distribution. A 2024 Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) index by Oxfam ranked the country the second-worst in North Africa with a score of 73, right after Egypt with 90. 'Morocco suffers from significant regional disparities, as well as an unequal distribution of wealth,' economist Jadri explained, noting the stark contrast between urban and rural areas. 'The government must work hard to support farmers and the rural world. If they are not supported, these populations will resort to migration.'
