Knifeman Injures Several in French Alps
Two adults, including a 70-year-old man, and four toddlers, aged from 22 months to three years, were wounded in a stabbing attack on Thursday morning in a playground near the French Alpine town of Annecy's famous lake.
Facts
- Two adults, including a 70-year-old man, and four toddlers, aged from 22 months to three years, were wounded in a stabbing attack on Thursday morning in a playground near the French Alpine town of Annecy's famous lake.1
- The children are now reportedly in stable condition, while one of the adults remains critically injured.2
- Footage posted online and the witnesses' account indicate that the attacker — wearing dark glasses and a blue scarf covering his head — ran around the park brandishing a knife and attacking people at random before he was shot by police.3
- The suspect, who was arrested at the scene, is reportedly a Syrian in his 30s who was granted refugee status in Sweden in April and had previously applied for asylum in France last November, according to French PM Élisabeth Borne.4
- Local prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis stated that the 31-year-old suspect had "no apparent terrorist motive," with interior minister Gérald Darmanin telling the French TF1 news that the Syrian refugee had "Christian religious insignia" upon him.5
- Le Paquier park, where the attack took place, is usually a calm place popular with tourists that visit Annecy, a quiet city of 135K people that lies south of Geneva, Switzerland, due to its views of Lake Annecy and the mountains.6
Sources: 1Guardian, 2BBC News, 3France 24, 4Le Monde.fr, 5Independent, and 6Al Jazeera.
Narratives
- Right narrative, as provided by Spectator (UK). This stabbing attack is the latest in a succession of hideous crimes that have been shocking France, including the rape and murder of a Parisian girl last year and the killing of three Christians at a Nice church in 2020. While most perpetrators share the same profile — foreigners exploiting the country's weak border control — the government has so far failed to make good on the promise to propose a tougher immigration bill.
- Left narrative, as provided by Yahoo News. While authorities have found no indication that this attack was terrorist-driven, the far-right has swiftly used this appalling incident to peddle anti-immigration and anti-refugee messages as police publicized the suspect was a Syrian national with legal refugee status. It is shameful that the attack carried out by a likely mentally disturbed individual is being seized on to smear millions of refugees around the world.
