Marches \u2018against Islamophobia\u2019 have been organised throughout France in the victim\u2019s memory.<\/p>\n
A man suspected of killing a Muslim worshipper in a mosque in southern France remains on the run, authorities say, in an incident that Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has branded as \u201cIslamophobic\u201d.<\/p>\n
Both men were alone in the mosque in La Grand-Combe, a former mining town in the Gard region, on Friday when the victim was fatally stabbed. The assailant reportedly recorded the attack on his phone and filmed the dying Malian man, who was in his 20s.<\/p>\n
A source close to the case, who asked not to be named, said the suspected perpetrator, while not apprehended, has been identified as a non-Muslim, French citizen of Bosnian origin, according to the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n
After initially praying alongside the man, the attacker stabbed the victim about 50 times before fleeing the scene. The body was found later in the morning, when other worshippers arrived at the mosque for Friday prayers.<\/p>\n
The suspect, who has been identified only as Olivier \u2013 born in France in 2004 and unemployed, with no criminal record \u2013 is \u201cpotentially extremely dangerous\u201d and it is \u201cessential\u201d to arrest him before he claims more victims, according to regional prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini.<\/p>\n
The Grand Mosque of Paris condemned the attack in a statement and said the victim had just finished cleaning the mosque when he was killed.<\/p>\n
It called on authorities to quickly shed light on the reasons behind the attack, asking judicial authorities to say whether it is being treated as a \u201cterrorist\u201d act and to note its \u201cscale and seriousness \u2026 for the safety of all\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cRacism and hatred based on religion can have no place in France. Freedom of worship cannot be violated,\u201d President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X on Sunday in his first comments on the killing, extending his support to \u201cour fellow Muslim citizens\u201d.<\/p>\n
\nUn jeune a \u00e9t\u00e9 atrocement assassin\u00e9 dans une mosqu\u00e9e du Gard.<\/p>\n
\u00c0 sa famille, \u00e0 nos compatriotes de confession musulmane, j\u2019adresse le soutien de la Nation.<\/p>\n
Le racisme et la haine en raison de la religion n\u2019auront jamais leur place en France. La libert\u00e9 de culte est intangible.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) April 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin on Saturday decried the \u201cdespicable murder\u201d that \u201cwounds the hearts of all believers, of all Muslims in France\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe stand shoulder to shoulder with the victim\u2019s family and the shocked worshippers,\u201d he said. \u201cThe resources of the state are being mobilised to ensure that the murderer is caught and punished.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced on Sunday that he would travel to La Grand-Combe.<\/p>\n
The SOS Racisme campaign group said it would take part in a march \u201cagainst Islamophobia\u201d organised later on Sunday at La Grand-Combe.<\/p>\n
More marches are also planned on Sunday evening throughout France, including at Paris\u2019s Place de la Republique. The marchers will observe a minute\u2019s silence in memory of the victim.<\/p>\n
\nParis place de la r\u00e9publique 18h pic.twitter.com\/mtyEAF75Pb<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Rima Hassan (@RimaHas) April 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Several prominent members of the far-left La France Insoumise party have called on people to attend the protests on social media, including Member of European Parliament and Palestinian rights activist Rima Hassan,<\/a> and Green Party leader Marine Tondelier.<\/p>\n