France's National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office has opened a historical investigation into the murder of Hichem Miraoui, a Tunisian citizen allegedly shot by his neighbor in Puget-sur-Argens, in a crime motivated by far-right racism. This is the first case in which the Public Prosecutor's Office, created in 2019 and specialized in terrorist attacks and Islamist-style murders, takes on a case related to far-right ideologies. The suspect, who shared hate speech on social media, would also have shot another man of Turkish origin. During the arrest, several weapons were found in his vehicle, as investigators point to the intention to disrupt public order through terror.
The murder of Miraoui occurs in a context of increasing racial violence in France, one month after a similar attack on a mosque in the south of the country. Bruno Retailleau, Minister of the Interior, described the incident as an anti-Muslim act and possibly a terrorist crime. Associations such as SOS Racismo have highlighted the increasingly tense atmosphere in the country, while the left-wing opposition criticizes the government for fueling a climate of distrust toward immigrants. The Socialist Party has expressed that the government's anti-immigration rhetoric could encourage racist attitudes and trivialize racism in public discourse.
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