Political reactions: tribute to the police and the beginning of controversy about the suspect’s alarming profile
Political leaders quickly responded to the attack. “My thoughts are with the victim, the injured, and their families,” wrote the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne. “We will not give in to terrorism. Never,” she added. The President, Emmanuel Macron, offered his “condolences to the family and loved ones of the German national who died tonight during the terrorist attack in Paris and thinks emotionally of the currently injured and cared for individuals.”
Within the majority, Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly, regretted that “once again terrorism has struck our soil, in the heart of the evening, in Paris. I offer all my support to the victims and their families. Thank you to the security forces for their rapid intervention. Let us be united in fighting those who attack our values.” The Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, also on Twitter, stated: “Paris mourns after this terrible attack #Grenelle. Thoughts and solidarity for the families and loved ones of the victims. Thank you to our security and emergency forces for their rapid and decisive intervention.”
On the right, Eric Ciotti, the president of the Les Républicains party, showed his “support for the victims of the knife attack that just occurred in Paris. Thank you to our brave police officers who arrested the individual attacking passersby. Our law enforcement risk their lives every day to protect us. Immense gratitude.” The president of the Ile-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, expressed her “thoughts for the deceased person and the injured.” “Full clarity must be shed on this attack in the heart of Paris,” she added.
Meanwhile, on the far right, the president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, questioned the suspect’s background: “Tomorrow morning, the French will wonder how a man who was listed, already convicted of planning an attack, a well-known psychiatric case, in the current context, could walk freely and armed on a Saturday night in the streets of Paris. And they will be right to wonder.”
