Macron Retracts Claim Trappes Attack Was First Religious Motivated Terror Strike in France

2 min read

French President Emmanuel Macron faced significant backlash and was forced to retract his claim that the shootings in Trappes were the first time France had experienced a terror attack motivated by race or religion. The incident, which occurred on Friday in the multicultural Paris suburb of Trappes, resulted in the death of one man and left a 12-year-old girl injured. The suspected attacker, identified as ‘Kevin T.’, was arrested shortly after the shootings, found in possession of an antique Sten MK II automatic gun, tear gas canisters, and cocaine.

Initial Claim and Immediate Pushback

Speaking to the press from Trappes, Macron asserted that the attack was a ‘turning point’ for France, claiming it was ‘the first time there has been a planned terrorist act to kill our fellow citizens, our children, because of their skin colour or the religion they are given.’ However, this statement faced immediate and swift pushback on social media and from politicians, who cited numerous historical instances of Islamic terrorists targeting religious communities in France.

Historical Precedents Highlighted

Examples cited included the 2012 antisemitic attack at the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school in Toulouse, where Mohamed Merah murdered three children and a father. The 2015 hostage situation at the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket in Paris, where Amedy Coulibaly killed five people, was also referenced. The 2016 killing of Father Jacques Hamel at a church in Normandy by ISIS supporters, and the 2020 stabbing of three people at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Nice by Brahim Aouissaoui, were also highlighted as evidence of prior attacks motivated by religion.

Political Reactions and Retraction

National Rally leader Jordan Bardella and French MEP Marion Maréchal criticized Macron’s claim, emphasizing that the victims of past attacks should not be forgotten. Mayor of Nice, Éric Ciotti, condemned the remarks as a ‘historic and grave mistake.’ Following the backlash, Macron was forced to walk back his assertion, though he did not explicitly acknowledge his initial mistake, stating that ‘none of these victims should be forgotten.’

Source: Breitbart

Written by

Connor Davis