Kurds, anti-racism groups gather after deadly Paris shooting
PARIS (AP) — Kurdish activists, left-wing politicians and anti-racism groups demonstrated in Paris on Saturday after three people were killed at a Kurdish cultural center in what prosecutors said was racially motivated.
PARIS (AP) — Kurdish activists, left-wing politicians and anti-racism groups demonstrated in Paris on Saturday after three people were killed at a Kurdish cultural center in what prosecutors said was racially motivated.
The shooting in a busy area of central Paris injured three people and raised concerns about hate crimes against minority groups at a time when far-right voices have been gaining traction in France and across Europe in recent years.
The alleged attacker was injured and is in custody. He is a 69-year-old Parisian who was charged with attacking migrants last year and was released earlier this month. He faces possible charges of murder and attempted murder with a racist motive, the Paris prosecutor said on Saturday.
Thousands gathered on the Place de la Republique in east Paris on Saturday, waving a colorful array of flags representing Kurdish rights groups, political parties and other causes. The gathering was mostly peaceful, but some youths threw projectiles and fought with police, who fired tear gas. Some demonstrators shouted anti-Turkish government slogans.
The shooting shook the Kurdish community in the French capital and put police on extra alert for the Christmas weekend.
The Paris police chief met with members of the Kurdish community on Saturday to try to allay their fears ahead of Saturday’s rally in the Place de la Republique.
Friday’s attack took place at the cultural center and a nearby restaurant and hair salon. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the suspect was clearly targeting foreigners, had acted alone and did not officially belong to any far-right or other radical movement. The suspect had previous convictions for illegal possession of firearms and armed violence.
Kurdish activists said they were recently warned by police about threats to Kurdish targets.
In 2013, three Kurdish activists, including Sakine Cansiz, a founder of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), were found shot dead in a Kurdish center in Paris.
The Turkish army is fighting militant Kurds who are close to the banned PKK in south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq. The Turkish military also recently launched a series of air and artillery strikes against Syrian Kurdish militant targets in northern Syria.
Jeffrey Schaeffer and Angela Charlton, The Associated Press
