A Frenchman accused of murdering his Tunisian neighbour in the south of France will appear before an anti-terrorism judge on Thursday, the national anti-terror prosecutor's office said.
Christophe B is accused of killing Hichem Miraoui in an attack that sparked alarm over rising racism in France and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau described as "racist" and "perhaps also a terrorist crime".
Anti-terrorism prosecutors, known by their French acronym PNAT, have taken over the case -- the first time a far-right racist attack has been treated as a "terrorist" offence since the unit was created in 2019.
Christophe B, a French national in his 50s, shot and killed Miraoui, a Tunisian man in his 40s, on Saturday in the southern town of Puget-sur-Argens before wounding another neighbour, a Turkish national.
He posted racist videos on social media both before and after the attack, according to regional prosecutor Pierre Couttenier.
A source close to the case told AFP that, unlike jihadist attacks often linked to state-designated "terrorist" organisations like the Islamic State group, far-right attacks are assessed on a case-by-case basis, as they typically lack connections to such organisations.
The decision to refer them to the anti-terror prosecutors depends on the suspect's profile, the severity of the act, and whether there was a clear intent to seriously disrupt public order through intimidation or terror.
Christophe B wanted to "disrupt public order through terror", according to a source close to the case.
According to French daily Le Parisien, the suspect said he "swore allegiance to the French flag" and called on the French to "shoot" people of foreign origin in one of his videos posted on social media.
Why this hatred?
Political and religious leaders have sounded the alarm over growing anti-Muslim acts in France, which increased by 72 per cent in the first quarter, with 79 recorded cases, according to interior ministry figures.
The shooting followed the murder of a Malian man in a mosque in April, also in southern France and the burning of a Koran near Lyon at the weekend.
Retailleau said Tuesday that the killing of Miraoui was "clearly a racist crime", "probably also anti-Muslim"
Chems-Eddine Hafiz, the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, called on French president Emmanuel Macron to speak out.
"It is time to hold accountable the promoters of this hatred who, in political and media circles, act with complete impunity and incite extremely serious acts," said Hafiz.
"Remind people of the reality that we are citizens of this country," he added.
Tributes poured in from shocked neighbours and friends mourning the murder of Miraoui, with more than a dozen bouquets placed outside the barbershop where he worked in the quiet town of Puget-sur-Argens.
"I don't understand why he was killed. Why all this hatred?", said Sylvia Elvasorre, a 65-year-old pensioner who lives next to the hair salon, tears in her eyes.
France is home to the largest Muslim community in the European Union, as well as the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States.
There has also been a rise in reported attacks against members of France's Jewish community since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023 and the Israeli military responded with a devastating military offensive on the Gaza Strip.
France's Holocaust memorial and three Paris synagogues and a restaurant were vandalised with paint on Saturday.
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