The Prague Post - 'Why this hatred': French town reels over killing of Tunisian man

EUR -
AED 4.322268
AFN 82.375198
ALL 97.820014
AMD 451.78854
ANG 2.106086
AOA 1079.109066
ARS 1480.955073
AUD 1.783601
AWG 2.12115
AZN 1.998322
BAM 1.962725
BBD 2.376034
BDT 143.447962
BGN 1.954727
BHD 0.443605
BIF 3447.971522
BMD 1.176782
BND 1.503537
BOB 8.131865
BRL 6.492422
BSD 1.176777
BTN 101.675313
BWP 15.705347
BYN 3.85117
BYR 23064.928952
BZD 2.36379
CAD 1.601147
CDF 3396.192855
CHF 0.932794
CLF 0.028454
CLP 1116.248879
CNY 8.425508
CNH 8.415269
COP 4751.904916
CRC 594.495056
CUC 1.176782
CUP 31.184725
CVE 110.76465
CZK 24.587725
DJF 209.137823
DKK 7.463693
DOP 71.085202
DZD 152.544512
EGP 57.775771
ERN 17.651731
ETB 162.50519
FJD 2.631517
FKP 0.870467
GBP 0.866965
GEL 3.189371
GGP 0.870467
GHS 12.249841
GIP 0.870467
GMD 84.727856
GNF 10186.225772
GTQ 9.03206
GYD 246.073459
HKD 9.237457
HNL 31.008077
HRK 7.531521
HTG 154.41812
HUF 398.509022
IDR 19149.304228
ILS 3.921044
IMP 0.870467
INR 101.666971
IQD 1541.584537
IRR 49557.234235
ISK 142.802446
JEP 0.870467
JMD 188.766031
JOD 0.834333
JPY 172.154396
KES 152.39661
KGS 102.819093
KHR 4730.663635
KMF 494.843557
KPW 1059.165111
KRW 1616.945196
KWD 0.359024
KYD 0.980656
KZT 633.31185
LAK 25377.306008
LBP 105380.835944
LKR 355.03021
LRD 236.532948
LSL 20.605539
LTL 3.474731
LVL 0.711824
LYD 6.366462
MAD 10.5778
MDL 19.899126
MGA 5213.14493
MKD 61.548603
MMK 2470.184178
MNT 4220.38234
MOP 9.514272
MRU 46.85937
MUR 53.366922
MVR 18.128018
MWK 2043.481966
MXN 21.823635
MYR 4.974848
MZN 75.266687
NAD 20.605626
NGN 1801.936165
NIO 43.246878
NOK 11.891483
NPR 162.684463
NZD 1.94651
OMR 0.452469
PAB 1.176777
PEN 4.1846
PGK 4.860404
PHP 66.647082
PKR 335.647598
PLN 4.248623
PYG 8814.099154
QAR 4.284189
RON 5.066751
RSD 117.12629
RUB 92.25858
RWF 1693.977818
SAR 4.414838
SBD 9.749752
SCR 17.228153
SDG 706.653239
SEK 11.194328
SGD 1.501945
SHP 0.924766
SLE 27.007419
SLL 24676.536668
SOS 672.524794
SRD 42.890234
STD 24357.013336
STN 24.894825
SVC 10.296461
SYP 15300.474049
SZL 20.605093
THB 37.845772
TJS 11.291179
TMT 4.130505
TND 3.372363
TOP 2.756138
TRY 47.61205
TTD 7.986144
TWD 34.45642
TZS 3033.161124
UAH 49.206645
UGX 4224.996991
USD 1.176782
UYU 47.30752
UZS 15045.159135
VES 141.535579
VND 30766.967727
VUV 141.285399
WST 3.102102
XAF 658.29367
XAG 0.029954
XAU 0.000347
XCD 3.180312
XCG 2.120774
XDR 0.817309
XOF 656.644614
XPF 119.331742
YER 283.545712
ZAR 20.64766
ZMK 10592.457711
ZMW 27.331014
ZWL 378.923353
  • RYCEF

    0.2000

    13.5

    +1.48%

  • CMSC

    -0.0400

    22.43

    -0.18%

  • SCS

    0.2100

    10.68

    +1.97%

  • GSK

    1.0100

    38.03

    +2.66%

  • RELX

    0.4100

    53.09

    +0.77%

  • RIO

    0.2900

    64.62

    +0.45%

  • NGG

    -1.6300

    72.65

    -2.24%

  • AZN

    2.5200

    73

    +3.45%

  • SCU

    0.0000

    12.72

    0%

  • RBGPF

    0.9700

    68

    +1.43%

  • BTI

    0.1500

    52.37

    +0.29%

  • CMSD

    -0.0300

    22.89

    -0.13%

  • VOD

    -0.0200

    11.3

    -0.18%

  • BCE

    0.2200

    24.6

    +0.89%

  • JRI

    0.0000

    13.21

    0%

  • BCC

    1.2000

    88.35

    +1.36%

  • BP

    0.1900

    32.71

    +0.58%

'Why this hatred': French town reels over killing of Tunisian man
'Why this hatred': French town reels over killing of Tunisian man / Photo: Viken KANTARCI - AFP

'Why this hatred': French town reels over killing of Tunisian man

The murder of a Tunisian man by his French neighbour in southern France, which is being investigated as a terror crime, has horrified the local community and raised alarm over rising racism in the country.

Text size:

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.

- 'Complete impunity' -

The shooting followed the murder of a Malian man in a mosque in April, also in southern France, while the burning of a Koran 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 percent 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 Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023 and the Israeli military responded with a devastating military offensive on the Gaza Strip.

France's Holocaust memorial and three Paris synagogues and a restaurant were vandalised with paint on Saturday.

S.Janousek--TPP