'Why this hatred': French town reels over killing of Tunisian man
Tributes poured in from shocked neighbours and friends mourning the murder of Hichem Miraoui, with more than a dozen bouquets placed outside the barbershop where he worked in the quiet town of Puget-sur-Argens.
"I don't understand why he was killed. Why all this hatred?" said Sylvia Elvasorre, a 65-year-old pensioner who lives next to the hair salon, tears in her eyes.
Marwouen Gharssalli, 43, echoed her disbelief, saying his friend was generous and willing to lend a helping hand.
"He even cut hair for free when people couldn't pay... he regularly used to cut my son's hair," said Gharssalli, a welder in the southern town.
A card signed by fellow shopkeepers said the death of Miraoui – remembered as hard-working and warm – would "leave a void."
Christophe B., a French national, shot and killed Miraoui, 46, on Saturday evening before injuring another neighbour, a Turkish national. The suspect, born in 1971, was arrested after his partner alerted police.
He posted racist videos on social media both before and after the attack, according to regional prosecutor Pierre Couttenier.
A silent march is planned in Puget-sur-Argens on Sunday to affirm the city's "absolute rejection of hatred and our commitment to respect, tolerance and fraternity," said a town hall statement.
The shooting followed the murder of a Malian man in a mosque in April, also in southern France, while the burning of a Quran near Lyon at the weekend has further fuelled concerns over rising anti-Muslim attacks in the country.
"People are stunned that a racist crime like this could happen. This kind of thing is not part of Puget's culture," said Paul Boudoube, the town's mayor.
Miraoui was in a video call with family planning for the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, when he was shot
"He was joking with our sick mother when I heard him grunt and the call ended," said Hanen Miraoui, the victim's sister.
According to French daily Le Parisien, the suspect in Miraoui's murder 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 social media.
Anti-terrorism prosecutors have taken over the investigation into the case, the first such racist attack linked to the far right to be dealt with as "terrorism" since their office was set up in 2019.
"It means that investigative resources will be devoted to analysing the political motives behind this act and how this person became radicalised," said the legal head of the anti-discrimination group SOS Racisme, Zelie Heran, who praised the referral.
Following the murder, political and religious leaders have sounded the alarm over growing anti-Muslim acts in France, which increased by 72 per cent in the first quarter, with 79 recorded cases, according to interior ministry figures.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who is taking an increasingly hard line on immigration issues, has faced accusations of not being firm enough against such crimes and even fuelling a racist climate.
But he said on Tuesday that the killing of Miraoui was "clearly a racist crime", "probably also anti-Muslim" and "perhaps also a terrorist crime."
Chems-Eddine Hafiz, the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, called on French President Emmanuel Macron to speak out.
"It is time to hold accountable the promoters of this hatred who, in political and media circles, act with complete impunity and incite extremely serious acts," said Hafiz.
"Remind people of the reality that we are citizens of this country," said Hafiz.
France is home to the largest Muslim community in the European Union, as well as the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States.
There has also been a rise in reported attacks against members of France's Jewish community since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023 and the Israeli military responded with a devastating military offensive on the Gaza Strip killing thousands.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
5 minutes ago
- The Sun
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou condemns EU-US trade deal as submission
PARIS: French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has strongly criticised the newly struck trade deal between the European Union and the United States, labelling it a 'dark day' and an act of 'submission.' The agreement, finalised on Sunday, has drawn sharp reactions from politicians across France. 'It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, united to affirm their values and defend their interests, resorts to submission,' Bayrou stated in a post on X. The deal, negotiated by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, sets a baseline tariff of 15 percent on EU exports to the US. French President Emmanuel Macron has yet to publicly respond, but opposition leaders have been vocal. Jordan Bardella of the far-right National Rally called it a 'commercial surrender of Europe,' while Marine Le Pen described it as a 'political, economic, and moral fiasco.' Macron ally Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade criticised the deal as a 'signal of weakness,' urging efforts to reverse its effects. Meanwhile, Philippe Latombe of Bayrou's Democratic Movement expressed regret, calling it a 'bad deal, except for Trump.' The Socialist Party and far-left France Unbowed also condemned the agreement, with Jean-Luc Melenchon framing it as a choice between 'non-submission to the US Empire and non-alignment.' French Finance Minister Eric Lombard and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot will meet with key economic stakeholders on Wednesday to assess the deal's impact. – AFP
New Straits Times
34 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Europe reacts with mix of relief and concern to US trade deal
EUROPEAN governments and companies reacted with both relief and concern on Monday to the framework trade deal struck with US President Donald Trump, acknowledging what was seen as an unbalanced deal but one that avoided a deeper trade war. The agreement, announced on Sunday between two economies that account for almost a third of global trade, will see the US impose a 15 per cent import tariff on most EU goods - half the threatened rate but much more than what Europeans hoped for. Many of the specifics of the deal were not immediately known, however. "As we await full details of the new EU–U.S. trade agreement, one thing is clear: this is a moment of relief but not of celebration," Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever wrote on X. "Tariffs will increase in several areas and some key questions remain unresolved." Trump said the deal, including an investment pledge topping the US$550 billion deal signed with Japan last week, would expand ties between the trans-Atlantic powers after years of what he called unfair treatment of US exporters. It will bring clarity for European makers of cars, planes and chemicals. But the EU had initially hoped for a zero-for-zero tariff deal. And the 15 per cent baseline tariff, while an improvement on the threatened rate of 30 per cent, compares to an average US import tariff rate of around 2.5 per cent last year before Trump's return to the White House. European Commission chief Von der Leyen, describing Trump as a tough negotiator, told reporters on Sunday that it was "the best we could get." European stocks opened up on Monday, with the STOXX 600 at a four-month high and all other major bourses also in the green. Tech and healthcare stocks led the way. "The 15 per cent rate is better than the market was fearing," said Jefferies economist Mohit Kumar. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal, saying it averted a trade conflict that would have hit Germany's export-driven economy and its large auto sector hard. French government ministers said on Monday that the deal had some merits - such as exemptions they hoped to see for some key French business sectors such as spirits - but was nevertheless not balanced. Industry minister Marc Ferracci stressed more talks - potentially lasting weeks or months - would be needed before the deal could be formally concluded. "This is not the end of the story," he told RTL radio. European companies, meanwhile, were left wondering whether to cheer or lament the accord. "Those who expect a hurricane are grateful for a storm," said Wolfgang Große Entrup, head of the German Chemical Industry Association VCI. "Further escalation has been avoided. Nevertheless, the price is high for both sides. European exports are losing competitiveness. US customers are paying the tariffs," he said. Stellantis shares were up 3.5 per cent and car parts maker Valeo jumped 4.7 per cent while German pharma group Merck KGaA rose 2.9 per cent, in a sign of relief for those sectors. Among the many questions that remain to be answered, however, is how the EU's promise to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the US and steeply increase energy purchases can be turned into reality. It was not immediately clear if specific pledges of increased investments were made or whether the details still must be hammered out. And while the EU pledged to make US$750 billion in strategic purchases over the next three years, including oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and nuclear fuel, the US will struggle to produce enough to meet that demand. While US LNG production capacity is due to almost double over the next four years it will still not be enough to ramp up supplies to Europe, and oil production is expected to be lower than previously forecast this year. Despite the lingering unknowns, analysts stressed the deal still helped decrease uncertainty. Oil prices rose on Monday, as did the euro. "Now that there is more clarity, you would think that not only in the United States, but around the globe, there will be a little bit more willingness to look at investment, to look at expansions, and to look at where the opportunities are," said Rodrigo Catril, senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank.
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Kim Jong-un's sister says 'no reason' for talks with South
SEOUL: North Korea has no interest in pursuing dialogue with the South, leader Kim Jong-un's powerful sister said Monday (July 28), dismissing a new president in Seoul who has vowed to mend ties. Since his election in June, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has broken with his predecessor's hawkish tone on the North and halted loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the border -- begun in response to a barrage of trash-filled North Korean balloons. North Korea has ended its own propaganda broadcasts, which had boomed strange and eerie noises into the South. But such gestures do not mean Seoul should expect a thawing of icy ties, Kim Yo-jong (pic) said in an English dispatch carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on Monday. "If the ROK... expected that it could reverse all the results it had made with a few sentimental words, nothing is more serious miscalculation than it," she said, referring to South Korea by its official name. "We clarify once again the official stand that no matter what policy is adopted and whatever proposal is made in Seoul, we have no interest in it and there is neither the reason to meet nor the issue to be discussed with the ROK," she added. "The DPRK-ROK relations have irreversibly gone beyond the time zone of the concept of homogeneous," she said, using the North's official acronym. Seoul said Kim's statement -- Pyongyang's first reaction to Lee's overture -- "reaffirms the high level of mistrust between the two due to years of hostile policies". "We take this as a sign that the North is closely monitoring the Lee administration's North Korea policy," Unification Ministry Spokesman Koo Byung-sam said at a press briefing. Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP that Kim's statement underscored Pyongyang's entrenched anti-South stance. "It declares that its hostile perception towards the South has become irreversible," he said. The two countries technically remain at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. The United States, a key security ally of South Korea, keeps around 28,000 troops in the South to help it defend attacks from the nuclear-armed North. The South's Lee has said he would seek talks with the North without preconditions, following a deep freeze under his predecessor when relations plummeted to their worst level in years. - AFP
