France makes arrests after deadly ‘Islamist’ knife attack

MULHOUSE, France – French police have made several arrests since a man went on a stabbing rampage, killing one and wounding several others in what President Emmanuel Macron called an “Islamist terrorist act”, prosecutors told AFP on Feb 23.

The knife-wielding suspect, identified by prosecutors as a 37-year-old Algeria-born man, was arrested during the attack on Feb 22 in the eastern city of Mulhouse.

He was on a terrorism watch list and subject to deportation orders.

A further three people were in custody in connection with the case, the national anti-terror prosecutors unit (PNAT) said.

Local prosecutor Nicolas Heitz said the suspect is registered in France’s terrorist watch list.

Speaking at a police station, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the man had “a schizophrenic profile” and his act had “a psychiatric dimension”.

He added that France had repeatedly attempted to expel him from the country, but Algeria refused to cooperate.

The rampage occurred at around 4pm (11pm Singapore time) near a busy market in Mulhouse, a city of around 110,000 people that is near the German border.

At the time, demonstrators were rallying in support of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A 69-year-old Portuguese man was fatally wounded while parking attendants and policemen were also hurt.

Two officers were seriously wounded, with one sustaining an injury to a carotid artery, and the other to the upper body, prosecutor Heitz told AFP, adding that the latter was able to leave hospital.

Three other officers suffered minor injuries, prosecutors said.

During the attack, the suspect was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest), according to PNAT. Witnesses told AFP they heard the suspect shouting the words several times.

President Macron later said there was “no doubt” that the incident was “a terrorist act”, specifically “an Islamist terrorist act”.

The government is determined to continue doing “everything to eradicate terrorism on our soil”, he added.

Speaking during a visit to France’s agriculture fair, Mr Macron offered condolences to the family of the victim and said the “solidarity of the nation” is behind them.

PNAT said it is investigating the attack for murder and attempted murder “in connection with a terrorist enterprise”.

Failed expulsions

The terror watch list, called FSPRT, compiles data from various authorities on individuals with the aim of preventing “terrorist” radicalisation.

It was launched in 2015 following deadly attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s offices and a Jewish supermarket.

Mr Retailleau told French broadcaster TF1 that France had tried to expel the suspect 10 times, with Algeria refusing each time to accept him.

“Once again, it is Islamist terrorism that has struck,” he said. And, once again, he added, problems of migration were “at the origin of this terrorist act”.

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said “fanaticism has struck again, and we are in mourning” while Mulhouse mayor Michele Lutz wrote on Facebook that “horror has just seized our city”.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said there would be a meeting of the government’s immigration control council on Feb 26 to discuss the implications of the case.

“We must do more, and we must do better,” he told the Europe 1 broadcaster.

France has experienced a string of stabbings deemed acts of terror. In January, a 32-year-old knife-wielding man wounded a person in a supermarket in Apt.

He was charged and jailed for attempted murder in connection with a terrorist undertaking.

In December 2023, a man suspected of stabbing a German tourist to death near the Eiffel Tower was charged with carrying out a terror attack. AFP