Trappes attack: the Republic must name hatred and protect all of its children

What we know

On Friday 23 October, in the late morning, a man opened fire on passers-by in Trappes, then in the neighbouring town of La Verrière, in the Yvelines department. According to AFP and the AP news agency, as reported by CBS News, the shots were fired in bursts from a car, at several locations, including near a playground. The attack lasted less than a quarter of an hour.

The toll reported by Le Monde is one dead, a 26-year-old man, and five injured, including a 12-year-old girl. According to AFP, three cleaning workers who were cleaning a school in La Verrière are among the seriously injured victims. The suspect, a 39-year-old man, was arrested in Coignières by officers of the anti-crime brigade, then taken into police custody. According to Le Monde, he was known to the police, but not to the intelligence services.

The national counter-terrorism prosecutor's office has taken over the investigation. According to AFP, it concerns murders and attempted murders in connection with a terrorist enterprise, with the aggravating circumstance of an act committed because of the victims' actual or supposed membership of an ethnic group, race or religion. Also according to AFP, the suspect allegedly told police he wanted to kill people he considered to be of foreign origin. His exact motives remain to be established by the investigation, and he remains presumed innocent.

The words of those in power, the words of the parties

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez spoke of a « crime terroriste » (terrorist crime) with a possibly racist motive, as reported by CBS News. According to the AP agency, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu described the case as very serious. Emmanuel Macron went to Trappes in the evening. According to Le Monde, he spoke there of « un tournant historique dans la vie de notre République » (a historic turning point in the life of our Republic) and declared: « La Nation doit être unie. » (The Nation must be united.)

The condemnation was unanimous, but the words differed. LCP compiled the reactions. On the left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon summed it up: « Le racisme tue » (Racism kills). Olivier Faure called for recognising the seriousness of rhetoric that trivialises racism. Marine Tondelier said that the violence of words precedes the violence of acts. The mayor of Trappes, Ali Rabeh, spoke, according to AFP, of an attack with racist, probably Islamophobic, overtones.

On the right and the far right, the tone was more reserved regarding the motive. Marine Le Pen denounced an « acte barbare » (barbaric act) whose motives « devront être établies » (will have to be established). Bruno Retailleau spoke of « violence terrifiante » (terrifying violence), while Édouard Philippe stated that terrorism must be fought relentlessly. According to L'Express, several of these figures made no reference to a possible racist motive. Jordan Bardella praised the speed of the arrest.

The presidents of both chambers spoke out. Yaël Braun-Pivet referred to events of extreme gravity. The President of the Senate called, according to LCP, to:

find again the path of appeasement and civil peace — Gérard Larcher

Naming things, without exploiting them

The caution called for by part of the right is not illegitimate. An investigation is beginning, a man is presumed innocent, and the first hours of a tragedy often bring errors. Waiting for the investigators' conclusions is a requirement this newspaper shares: facts first.

But this caution has a limit. The counter-terrorism prosecutor's office itself has retained the aggravating circumstance linked to the victims' supposed origin. The Interior Minister and the head of state have used the words terrorism and racism. When the judicial authority and the executive name the probable nature of a crime, refusing to say it is no longer restraint, it is unease. And one cannot rightly demand the utmost firmness against terrorism when it claims to act in the name of Islamism, then hesitate when it allegedly targets French people because of the colour of their skin or their supposed religion.

The Gaullist and Chiraquian tradition has always held this line. The Republic knows no second-class victims. Jacques Chirac, by refusing in 2002 any debate with the far right, recalled that certain ideas cannot be normalised without damage to national cohesion. This does not mean that political rhetoric is responsible for a crime: only the investigation will say what armed this gunman. It means that everyone, in their own place, bears responsibility for the climate they create.

The timing must also be considered. The attack comes on the eve of a new day of social mobilisation, in a country where curfews and bans on demonstrations are multiplying, and where the Prime Minister judged the threat « élevée » (high) that same day, as reported by Le Monde. But the response to a racist attack cannot be solely a matter for the police. It involves justice, schools, public services in the neighbourhoods, and the words of elected officials.

A proposal

Trappes is a town that is often caricatured. Today it is a town in mourning, and its residents expect more than slogans. This newspaper proposes that Parliament, beyond the emotion, quickly hold a solemn debate on racist violence and the terrorist threat in all its forms, with an assessment of the resources devoted to fighting hatred and supporting victims. The unity called for by the President of the Republic cannot be decreed: it must be proven, by protecting all the children of the Nation with equal resolve. Will the political class, this time, be able to keep speaking this common language beyond a few days?

Article written with the help of artificial intelligence.