The attack in Annecy has sparked a new debate on migration in France. Right-wing politicians are certain: uncontrolled mass immigration is to blame for such incidents.
After the attack in Annecy, conservative and very right-wing politicians in particular reacted directly. Uncontrolled mass immigration to France is to blame for such incidents, said Olivier Malics, leader of the conservative Les Républicains party in the French parliament. “Every time the evil comes from the same source,” he explained, an immigration that is completely out of control. “An influx of people that we no longer control at all.”
As usual, even harsher criticism came from the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party. France must take back control of immigration, deputy party leader David Rachline demanded, blaming EU rules. RN MP Laure Lavalette complained on the BFM television channel that migrants like the Annecy perpetrator were not consistently deported.
“The whole country is in shock”
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne did not engage in a discussion on the subject of immigration. After the attack, she flew directly to Annecy. During her appearance there, she expressed her sympathy for the victims and their relatives. “We are shocked by this despicable and despicable act,” she said. “When children become victims, I think it touches us all deeply. The whole country is in shock.”
Of course, the residents of Annecy, a town in the French Alpine region, are particularly in shock. Mayor François Astorg of the Green Party said that June 8 was a sad memory for the people here. “We condemn this terrible act and I believe that everyone joins in with my wishes that the victims are cured as quickly as possible – and also the wishes for their families.”
Asylum application rejected in France
On Thursday morning, just after 9:30 a.m., a Syrian national stormed into a playground near Lake Annecy. With a knife he seriously injured six people, including four children.
Ex-professional soccer player Anthony Le Tallec was jogging on the lake shore and witnessed the attack, as he later described on Instagram. “Someone shouted at me: ‘Run away! There’s someone who stabs all sorts of people, who stabs children, run! It’s so bad to hurt children. Unbelievable!’
The police stopped the perpetrator and arrested him. The 31-year-old man lived in Sweden for ten years, most recently as a recognized asylum seeker there. He also applied for asylum in France in November, which was rejected a few days ago because he already has this status in another EU member state.
Prosecutor: No terrorist attack
According to the responsible public prosecutor, Line Bonnet-Mathis, a terrorist attack cannot be assumed after initial investigations. “There is no obvious terrorist motive. The anti-terror prosecutor is currently examining the processes. That is normal in such cases. At the moment, however, we have no indications of a possible terrorist background.” Alcohol or drugs were also not involved. The Syrian was not known to the authorities for other crimes.
He is said to have described himself as Christian – an interesting detail in the context of the new debate on immigration. Because the conservative LR party spoke out in favor of the immigration of Christian Syrians during the refugee crisis of 2015/2016, which the reporter from France Info confronted LR parliamentary group leader Malics with. The topic is the mass of people who come to France, Malics avoided.
Eric Zemmour, one of the candidates in the last presidential election, fundamentally doubted that the perpetrator was a Christian. Anyone can claim that, said the extreme right-wing politician.