Two dead, 559 arrested during Champions League final celebrations, says French Interior Ministry
Two people died in France and 559 were arrested during celebrations after Paris Saint-Germain's stunning Champions League final victory over Inter Milan, the French Interior Ministry said on Sunday, June 1.
A 17-year-old was stabbed to death in the southwestern town of Dax during a gathering to celebrate the Parisians' victory, while a woman riding a scooter died after she was hit by a car in the southwest of Paris, the ministry said, adding that 559 people were arrested, including 491 in the capital.
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LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Dozens dead in twin attacks on Mali army bases, Timbuktu airport targeted
Twin attacks on a Malian army base in the northern city of Timbuktu and in the center of the country left dozens of soldiers dead, as well as at least a dozen assailants, security sources and local officials said on Monday, June 2. Timbuktu came under attack and shells were also fired at the airport where heavy gunfire was heard, the army, local officials and residents said. The army's general staff said in a statement it had "thwarted an attempt by terrorist fighters to infiltrate the Timbuktu camp" at around 10:00 am (local and GMT) with 14 attackers "neutralized," with no mention of other victims. "The terrorists were quickly routed by the swift reaction of the men," the army said, adding that "31 suspected terrorists" had been arrested. But the military was mourning the loss of at least 30 soldiers after reports emerged late on Monday of an attack on Sunday, likewise blamed on jihadists, at the Boulkessi army base in central Mali, near the border with Burkina Faso. Security sources and a local official said they believed the death toll from that attack would likely rise. "Our units on the ground report the death of 30 people on our side... Our men fought to the end but did not receive the necessary support," a security source in Bamako told AFP after the attack on what is one of the main military camps in the centre of the violence-plagued country. "The toll is at least 60 soldiers killed," one local elected official told AFP on condition of anonymity. A second security source told AFP there were "about 60 victims on the side of Malian forces", although that tally included "the dead, the missing and the soldiers taken hostage." In a statement late Sunday, the army had indicated that troops had "responded vigorously" to the Boulkessi attack before withdrawing. The statement went on to declare that "many men fought, some until their last breath" to defend their country and that ensuing military operations "have destroyed several terrorists grouped in places of retreat." Junta-ruled Mali has since 2012 faced attacks from groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as separatist movements and criminal gangs. The army's general staff said Monday regarding the Timbuktu attack that it had thwarted an attempt by terrorist fighters to infiltrate the camp in the fabled desert city. 'The city is under fire' Later in the day, a security source said that operations in the camp were "already over" and that the attackers were "everywhere in the city." Partner service Learn French with Gymglish Thanks to a daily lesson, an original story and a personalized correction, in 15 minutes per day. Try for free "They did not raid the airport because the Russians are there. But they launched shells. It's hot everywhere," the source added. A local official said the "terrorists" arrived in Timbuktu "with a vehicle packed with explosives." "The vehicle exploded near the (military) camp," the official said. UN staff were instructed in a message "to take shelter." A local journalist speaking by telephone said "the city is under fire." The ancient city of Timbuktu, once known as the "city of 333 saints" for the Muslim holy men buried there, was subject to major destruction while under the control of jihadists for several months in 2012. The jihadists who swept into the city considered the shrines idolatrous and destroyed them with pickaxes and bulldozers. The ancient city was peacefully retaken in late January 2013 with the support of French military forces under Operation Serval, deployed to halt the jihadists' advance in Mali. Since seizing power in coups in 2020 and 2021, Mali's military rulers have broken the country's traditional ties with its former colonial power France and moved closer to Russia. Jihadist groups and the Malian army and its allies from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner are regularly accused of committing abuses against civilians.
France 24
8 hours ago
- France 24
France probes terror motive after man shoots dead Tunisian neighbour
The shooting late Saturday in Puget-sur-Argens in the southern region of Var came after a Malian man was stabbed to death in April in a mosque, also in southern France, as concern grows over hate crimes against Muslims. The shooting was initially investigated by regional prosecutors as a suspected murder motivated by the victim's ethnicity or religion. But French national anti-terror prosecutors, known by their French acronym PNAT, announced Monday that they would be taking over the investigation. The suspect wanted to "disrupt public order through terror", according to a source close to the case. The suspected killer, a Frenchman born in 1971, fled the scene in a car but was arrested not far away after his partner alerted police. He posted videos with racist content before and after the shooting late on Saturday, according to regional prosecutor Pierre Couttenier. The victim, who was born in 1979, was shot five times. The Turkish national was wounded in the hand and hospitalised, the prosecutor said. - 'Swore allegiance to French flag' - A sports shooting enthusiast, the suspect "posted two videos on his social media account containing racist and hateful content before and after his attack," the prosecutor added. According to French daily Le Parisien, the suspect said he "swore allegiance to the French flag" and called on the French to "shoot" people of foreign origin in one of his videos posted on Facebook. The PNAT prosecutors said Monday that they had opened an investigation into a "terrorist plot" motivated by the race or religion of the victims. "The racist nature of this double crime is beyond doubt, given the hateful remarks made by the killer," said SOS Racisme, an anti-discrimination NGO. "This tragedy echoes a series of racist crimes that have occurred in recent months," it said, denouncing a "poisonous climate" in the country including the "trivialisation of racist rhetoric". Aboubakar Cisse of Mali was stabbed dozens of times while attending prayers at the mosque in the southern French town of La Grand-Combe on April 25. A French national of Bosnian origin accused of carrying out the attack surrendered to Italian authorities after three days on the run. Italy then extradited him to France to face justice. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was bitterly criticised for never travelling to the scene of that crime to show solidarity, while PNAT anti-terror prosecutors also came under fire for not taking over the case and instead leaving it to regular criminal prosecutors. On Monday, Retailleau denounced the murder of a Tunisian man, calling it a "racist act". "Racism in France and elsewhere is a poison, and we can see that it is a poison that kills," Retailleau told reporters. "Every racist act is an anti-French act." He added that he had spoken on the phone with the Tunisian ambassador to France. vxm-dac-sjw-as/rmb © 2025 AFP
Local France
8 hours ago
- Local France
France probes terror motive after man shoots dead Tunisian neighbour
The shooting late Saturday in Puget-sur-Argens in the Var region comes after a Malian man was stabbed to death in April in a mosque, also in southern France, as concern grows over hate crimes against Muslims. The shooting was initially investigated by regional prosecutors as a suspected murder motivated by the victim's ethnicity or religion. But French national anti-terror prosecutors ( Parquet national antiterroriste , PNAT) announced Monday that they would be taking over the investigation. The suspected killer, a 53-year-old who is French, fled the scene in a car but was arrested not far away after his partner alerted police. He posted videos with racist content before and after the shooting late on Saturday, according to regional prosecutor Pierre Couttenier. The Tunisian man killed, believed to be 35 years old, was shot five times. The Turkish citizen, 25, was wounded in the hand and hospitalised, the prosecutor said. Advertisement A sports shooting enthusiast, the suspect "posted two videos on his social media account containing racist and hateful content before and after his attack," he added. The PNAT prosecutors said Monday that they had opened an investigation into a "terrorist plot" motivated by the race or religion of the victims. "The racist nature of this double crime is beyond doubt, given the hateful remarks made by the killer," said SOS Racisme, an anti-discrimination NGO. "This tragedy echoes a series of racist crimes that have occurred in recent months," it said, denouncing a "poisonous climate" in the country including the "trivialisation of racist rhetoric". Aboubakar Cisse of Mali was stabbed dozens of times while attending prayers at the mosque in the southern French town of La Grand-Combe on April 25th. A French national of Bosnian origin accused of carrying out the attack surrendered to Italian authorities after three days on the run. Italy then extradited him to France to face justice. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was bitterly criticised for never travelling to the scene of that crime to show solidarity, while PNAT anti-terror prosecutors also came under fire for not taking over the case and instead leaving it to regular criminal prosecutors.
