A French mosque was hit in an arson attack Tuesday in Albertville, France. Surveillance cameras recorded a man pouring gasoline all around it before setting it on fire. This comes a week after a mosque in Rennes was defaced with graffiti reading “No Islamization!”, “Wake up, France!” and “We warned you, immigration kills!”, the last one most clearly in reference to the killing of a police woman by a Tunisian immigrant.
Emmanuel Macron’s poll numbers have dipped and it’s perceived part of his strategy is to appeal to the Islamophobia of the nation’s citizens, especially with the far right. Recently, a letter signed by 20 retired general, a hundred senior officers, and 1000 soldiers called Muslims and Muslim immigrants a “horde” rather than “legitimate citizens”, and warned that if the government didn’t take more actions against Islam, the military would launch a coup d’état.
France has seen a sharp rise in anti-Muslim sentiment and policies, such as a new separatism bill banning anyone under 18 from wearing the hijab, mothers who wear hijab from accompanying their children on school trips, and Algerian flags from being flown in official government buildings.
Sources:
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/mosqu ... imes-46477 https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... 4oNmigD8Pf
