The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has firmly condemned the "racist shooting" recorded this Friday in the vicinity of Paris, in which one person has died —an adult of African origin, according to the mayor of Trappes, one of the affected towns— and five others have been injured, three of them in serious condition, including a 12-year-old girl.
Macron has traveled to the Yvelines department to meet with the families of the victims and local officials. From there, he emphasized that the attack represents a "turning point" because, although France has suffered numerous terrorist attacks in the last decade, "it is the first time that people are attacked because of the color of their skin."
The head of state has linked this crime to the climate of social tension accumulated in recent weeks, marked by the mobilizations of students, unions, and the 'yellow vests' movement, a context that, in his opinion, has fueled the "stigmatization" of minorities.
In this framework, Macron has denounced that an aggressor has "spared the lives of people because of the color of their skin" and has reiterated his call not to "fall into the trap of confrontation," appealing to collective responsibility to avoid an escalation.
"The republic is one and indivisible. Let nothing divide us," proclaimed the occupant of the Élysée, claiming republican unity against racial hatred.
The alleged author of the shooting has been identified as Kévin T., a 39-year-old French citizen, with known police records, although he does not appear in the country's files of "radicalized" individuals, according to police sources cited by several French media.
At the same time, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office has reported in a statement the opening of proceedings for "homicide in connection with a terrorist enterprise, with the circumstance that the acts were committed due to real or supposed belonging to a presumed race, ethnicity, nation, or specific religion."