A devastating stabbing rampage in eastern France has left one person dead and several others wounded, with President Emmanuel Macron condemning the incident as an “Islamist terrorist act.” The suspect, a 37-year-old Algerian-born man, was arrested at the scene of the attack in Mulhouse and was found to be on France’s terrorism watchlist.
According to local prosecutor Nicolas Heitz, the suspect was registered on the watchlist, and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau revealed that France had attempted to expel him multiple times, but Algeria refused to cooperate. The suspect’s actions were described by Retailleau as having “a psychiatric dimension” due to his “schizophrenic profile.”
The attack occurred near a busy market in Mulhouse, where demonstrators were rallying in support of the Democratic Republic of Congo. A 69-year-old Portuguese man was fatally wounded, and several police officers were also hurt, with two sustaining serious injuries.
Witnesses reported hearing the suspect shout “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) during the attack, which President Macron later confirmed was a terrorist act. The government has vowed to continue efforts to eradicate terrorism on French soil.
This incident is the latest in a string of stabbings in France deemed acts of terror, including a January attack in a supermarket in Apt and a December 2023 attack near the Eiffel Tower.
