Europeupdated 1h ago3 min read
Archive photo · 8 June 2025Macron Accuses National Rally of Fostering Racism After Trappes Terrorist Attack
5 Western Mainstream1 Local WesternPhoto: European Commission / © European Union, 2026, CC BY 4.0 · Cropped for layout
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Macron accused far-right politicians, including National Rally, of fostering an atmosphere of racism. The Trappes attack left one dead and seven wounded, fueling debate on racism.
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Macron and the Trappes killing
President Emmanuel Macron accused far-right politicians, including those in Marine Le Pen's National Rally, of fostering an "atmosphere of racism" across France after a racially motivated killing in a Paris suburb. Macron told YouTube influencer Hugo Decrypte that there were "political movements which have led to ... a kind of disinhibition of speech, an ambient racism," and he cited the National Rally and "those close to it" as responsible. Anti-terrorist prosecutors said the 39-year-old suspect, named Kevin T, acknowledged during questioning seeking victims of "African or Muslim type" in Trappes, a culturally diverse town 20 km (15 miles) southwest of Paris.
The attack last Friday left one dead and seven wounded, and the debate over racism in French politics and the media erupted as France grappled with social grievances months ahead of a presidential election. The Guardian quoted Macron saying, "What happened today marks a turning point for our country; what happened today was a terrorist and racist attack," as he arrived at the scene of the drive-by shooting in Trappes on Friday night.
Competing blame and local trauma
Jean-Philippe Tanguy told TF1 that "It's Macron who has run France for the past nine years," and he said it was "on his watch" that antisemitism, homophobia and hate had spread through France. Zineb Alami, lawyer for Bossio Wangi's father, said "Words carry weight," and she described a "toxic climate" in which certain people were portrayed as suspicious or illegitimate. In Trappes, residents and relatives tried to process the shock after Kevin T.'s attack left one dead and seven injured, four of them seriously, with the report describing "twenty minutes of horror" that traumatized the town.
Fatou, a survivor and mother of three, said, "Life is no longer the same," and she described it as if "a monster could appear and snatch us from the world, in an instant, at the street corner." Ali Rabeh, the leftwing mayor of Trappes, said the gunman set out by car on Friday morning "firing at random, wanting to cause a bloodbath" as he drove through Trappes and neighbouring La Verrière.
Investigation details and political stakes
France's anti-terrorism prosecutors investigated whether the gunman targeted the "real or supposed race, ethnicity, nationality or religion" of the victims, and they said the 39-year-old suspect was named as Kevin T. The prosecutor said the medical status of the five wounded victims was not stable, and it described the 12-year-old girl as being treated for eight gunshot wounds at a children’s hospital on Friday night. An armed man fired with a submachine gun from his vehicle in the morning of Friday, October 23, in Trappes and La Verrière, killing one person and injuring seven, four of them seriously.
The suspect was arrested "a few minutes after the facts" in Coignières by five members of the anti-criminal brigade and placed in custody, and the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office stated he was in possession of a Sten-type submachine gun. Sociologist Solene Brun warned that "The normalisation of the ideas of the far-right extends beyond the National Rally into the ranks of the government," as Aurore Berge faced pressure in parliament over comments about the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory.
