Frenchman jailed for racially assaulting Muslim family

By AFP
July 12, 2024
Members of the French riot police take part in a training exercise to handle violent demonstrations, in Ris-Orangis, south of Paris, as the Yellow Vests and anti health pass protests continue in France, August 30, 2021. — Reuters
Members of the French riot police take part in a training exercise to handle violent demonstrations, in Ris-Orangis, south of Paris, as the 'Yellow Vests' and anti health pass protests continue in France, August 30, 2021. — Reuters

STRASBOURG, France: A man was jailed for six months on Thursday by a court in northeastern France for shooting at the car of a Muslim family who he racially abused, Alsatian prosecutors said.

The court in Saverne northwest of Strasbourg charged the man -- who the victims allege had expressed support for the far right -- with aggravated violence, prosecutor Aline Clerot told AFP.

The court had ruled that the July 6 attack was motivated by the family´s ethnicity, nationality or religion, she added.

It also banned the man in his 60s from owning a firearm for five years.

The victims´ statement quoted in Alsatian media alleged the man used a racial slur for North Africans while urging them to “get out of the way and go back to your neighbourhoods”.

The attacker also told the family he supported Marine le Pen´s far-right National Rally (RN) party, the victims added.

A small-calibre bullet impact was found on one of the car doors after the shooting. rance is home to one of Europe´s largest Muslim populations, with around six million people of Islamic faith or background.

The country recorded 242 anti-Muslim acts in 2023, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in February.