On December 23, police were on guard at the street where a shooting incident occurred in Paris, France.
On December 26, local time, the attacker who was shot in the Kurdish community in Paris, France, was transferred to the Paris judiciary, awaiting a court hearing. On the 23rd, the attacker opened fire in multiple places in the Kurdish areas of Paris, killing three Kurdish residents. The incident shocked France's Kurdish community and sparked skirmishes between Kurds and police over the weekend.
According to Agence France-Presse , a white man with a gun attacked a Kurdish cultural center, a restaurant and a barber shop in the Kurdish area of the 10th arrondissement of Paris on the 23rd, killing three people and injuring three others. All of the dead were Kurds. The murderer, who was later caught red-handed by police, admitted that he was a "racist" and described "all non-European foreigners" as "enemies." The murderer was transferred to a mental treatment facility under the jurisdiction of the police on the 24th due to health reasons, and was transferred to the Paris judicial institution on the 26th to await a court hearing.
It is reported that the murderer is a 69-year-old white man from Paris, whose name has not been made public. He was charged with attacking a migrant camp in Paris last year and was released from prison earlier this month. He told police he had a "pathological hatred of foreigners." On the 24th, the Paris Prosecutor's Office added "racist motives" to its investigation of murder, intentional homicide, serious violence and other crimes against the suspect. After the
shooting incident, members of the French Kurdish community and left-wing activists held protests in Paris on the 24th. Thousands of demonstrators overturned cars and set them on fire, while others threw objects at police, who fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. On the same day, a demonstration by thousands of Kurds in memory of their murdered compatriots broke out in the southern French city of Marseille and clashed with the local police.
French Interior Minister Darmanin admitted on the 24th that the attack "obviously targeted foreigners", but he argued that "it is not certain that the murderer's purpose was to target the Kurds." However, because the 10th arrondissement of Paris, where the attack occurred, is a Kurdish-populated area with a large number of shops and restaurants run by Kurds, the Kurds believed that this was a "deliberate attack" against this ethnic group and requested the Paris police to hold talks with Kurdish community leaders to ensure the safety of the Kurds.
"There are Kurds everywhere in Europe, but only in France we will be killed." A Kurdish student who participated in the demonstration angrily told a French reporter on the 24th. Another demonstrator said, "We are not protected here. Even though I have political refugee status, I don't feel safe. Maybe next time it will be me."
In recent years, racist forces have been on the rise in Europe. Far-right political parties that hold anti-immigration and emphasize the subjectivity of the nation have dominated parliaments in many countries and have become the ruling party. Violent attacks and hate crimes against immigrants have also gradually increased at the social level, raising concerns about the safety of minority groups.
The French Ministry of the Interior reported that crimes related to ethnic minorities increased by 13% in 2021 compared with 2019. Such crimes mainly targeted African Americans. In addition, there were hundreds of attacks related to different religious backgrounds. In recent years, far-right elements in Germany have engaged in illegal activities by posting "racist" remarks on social platforms. German Interior Minister Feser once warned that the far right and extremism are the biggest existential threats to German democracy.
Although Darmanin said that the murderer acted alone this time and was not affiliated with any far right or other radical movements, members of the Kurdish community still shouted slogans against the Turkish government during demonstrations last weekend. Filat, a member of the French Kurdish Democratic Council, told French media that before the violence on the 23rd, some people drove past Turkish flags.
The attack once again reflects the conflict between Kurdish groups and the Turkish government.The Kurdish issue has a long history. The PKK, founded in the late 1970s, has been seeking to use force to establish an independent state in the Kurdish-inhabited areas at the junction of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. It is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. Türkiye has launched military operations many times, targeting the PKK and its related armed forces.
Author: Shen Qinhan
Editor: Liu Chang
Picture source: Xinhua News Agency
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