French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the brutal killing of a Muslim worshipper at a mosque in southern France, stating that there is no place for racism or hatred in the country, AFP reported.
In his first public comments on the incident on Sunday, Macron expressed his support for France’s Muslim community.
“Racism and hatred based on religion can have no place in France. Freedom of worship cannot be violated,” he wrote on X, referring to the attack that occurred on Friday in the village of La Grand-Combe in the Gard region.
The victim, a young Malian man in his twenties, was fatally stabbed by the attacker, who then filmed the assault on a mobile phone while shouting insults at Islam.
A source close to the investigation revealed that the suspect, identified only as Olivier, is a French citizen of Bosnian origin who is not Muslim. While the suspect has not yet been apprehended, authorities are urging his capture, describing him as “potentially extremely dangerous.”
“The murder of a worshipper in a mosque is a despicable crime that must revolt the hearts of all French people,” said the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France, also condemning the attack.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou also condemned the incident, labelling it an “Islamophobic atrocity.”
The body of the victim was discovered the following morning, when other worshippers arrived at the mosque for Friday prayers.
A protest against Islamophobia is set to take place in Paris on Sunday evening in response to the killing.
Regional prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini has warned that the attacker remains a serious threat. It is “essential” to arrest him before he claims more victims, Grini said.