I have been following the latest tragedy in France, which occurred Friday when a 69-year-old man (a Frenchman only identified as William M.) shot and killed three people in a largely Kurdish neighborhood in Paris while wounding three others. The incident has been followed, both Friday and today, by demonstrations by Kurds which have turned violent.
I was tempted to translate a French news report, but due to other items to write about and the fact that the story is still unraveling, I am just going to put down some words in English for the sake of time.
French authorities and French media are not using the words "terrorist attack" to describe the shooting, which took place just outside a Kurdish cultural center. For the moment, the French anti-terror unit is not taking charge of the case. That is angering many in the Kurdish community as well. According to reports today, it appears the shooter told police as he was being arrested that he did it because he was a "racist". What really irks me about this case is that he had just recently been let out of custody on charges-still in force- that he attacked a migrant camp armed with a sword. The man is a retired railroad worker who is angry about the presence of immigrants/migrants/asylum-seekers etc in France. He is also being described by his family and acquaintances as mentally ill. So the current theory is that this act was carried act by a mentally-disturbed Frenchman out of racist motives. Some officials have had to backtrack over earlier statements that this was the work of a "right-wing extremist". The terms, "right-wing" and "left-wing" have somewhat different connotations in Europe than they do in the US, but it is premature to assign blame for this act to a larger swath of people, almost all of whom would also condemn the attack.
There is still a large belief among many Kurds in France that this attack was ordered by the Turkish government. Many of the protesters have accused Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of being behind the attack.
Whatever the reason behind this despicable attack, it just adds to the long list of tragedies and social problems that France is facing. The country is just getting over the soccer riots and now this.
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