Police official fatally stabbed near Paris, Macron calls it terrorism
Rambouillet: A man fatally stabbed a police administrative worker as she walked into a police station in a Paris commuter town on Friday, and President Emmanuel Macron said France had again been the victim of a terror attack.
The attacker stabbed the woman in the throat, two security sources said.
Macron identified the victim as Stephanie and said the nation stood by her family’s side.
“We will stop at nothing in our resolute fight against Islamist terrorism,” Macron tweeted.
The attacker was shot dead by police officers.
France’s anti-terror prosecutor said he was leading the investigation because the assailant had previously scouted out the site and because of what he said during the attack.
Police officer guards the police station in Rambouillet where the attack took place. Credit:
A judicial source close to the investigation said the attacker had shouted “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is Greatest”.
The attacker was a Tunisian national residing in France on legitimate papers, the security officials said. BFM TV reported that he had lived in France illegally before obtaining a residency card, which was due to expire later this year.
He was not previously known to France’s intelligence agencies, a third security source added.
“France has lost one of its everyday heroines in a barbaric gesture of infinite cowardice,” Prime Minister Jean Castex said outside the police station, located on a residential street in the town of Rambouillet.
France has seen several attacks by Islamist militants or Islamist-inspired individuals in recent years that have killed about 250 people.
Police stand guard as President Emmanuel Macron said France had again been the victim of a terror attack.Credit:
Friday’s attack came six months after a Chechen teenager beheaded a school teacher in Conflans, another Paris satellite town.
Macron has expressed increasing concern over radicalisation – often non-violent – within Muslim communities, warning that Islamist separatism is threatening to take control in some areas.
He has called for an “enlightened Islam” in France, saying Islam and radical Islamism must not be conflated.
Tackling religious extremism, domestic security and notions of French identity are likely to be important issues in next year’s presidential election.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right and the strongest challenger to Macron’s re-election bid, said the police needed more protection.
“Support the police, expel illegal immigrants, eradicate Islamism,” she tweeted.
Reuters
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