By Golineh Djananpour, Brussels
A horrifying crime has shaken France — once again confronting the Republic with difficult questions about hatred, integration, and social cohesion. In La Grand-Combe, a small and until now relatively quiet town in the southern département of Gard with around 5,000 residents, a murder has occurred whose brutality and symbolism are almost beyond comprehension. A young man was killed in broad daylight — apparently driven by racist and anti-Muslim motives.
The suspected perpetrator, Olivier H., a 21-year-old French citizen of Bosnian descent born in Lyon, made his way early in the morning to the local mosque. There, he encountered Aboubakar Cissé, a 23-year-old immigrant from Mali who was preparing the prayer room for Friday prayers. Cissé was alone. According to police sources, Olivier H. had no prior connection to the mosque community — no one knew him. Nevertheless, he asked the young Malian to show him how Muslims pray.
Apparently unsuspecting, Cissé knelt down to demonstrate the beginning of Islamic prayer. At that moment, Olivier H. pulled a long knife from his jacket pocket — and stabbed him without warning. Dozens of times. The entire act was captured on the mosque’s surveillance cameras.
What investigators later described has shaken even experienced officers. While Aboubakar Cissé lay severely injured on the floor, fighting for his life, Olivier H. took out his phone and filmed the scene — for “several dozen seconds,” according to the police report. The footage reportedly shows H. cursing Allah, mocking his dying victim, and declaring that he wanted to kill more people. His stated aim: to be remembered as a serial killer. He appeared to be calmly expecting his arrest. “They’re coming to get me anyway,” he is said to have declared on the recording.
The murder has sparked an intense debate in Paris. President Emmanuel Macron, via a statement from the Élysée Palace, said he was “deeply shaken” by the crime and promised that the state would “confront hatred and violence with the full force of the law, wherever they emerge.” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal addressed the National Assembly on Saturday, declaring: “A young man, who was doing nothing more than practicing his religion peacefully, was brutally murdered — this is not just a crime, it is an attack on the foundations of our Republic.”
Leaders of France’s Muslim communities expressed shock — but not surprise. The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) stated: “We have been warning for years about the rise in anti-Muslim incitement in certain political and media circles. Those who sow hatred will reap violence.” Many are now calling for more decisive action — both legally and socially — to combat anti-Muslim hate crimes.
The far-right Rassemblement National (RN) reacted with noticeable restraint. Party leader Jordan Bardella referred to a “tragic isolated incident” and warned against “rushed conclusions.” Critics, however, accuse the RN of helping to cultivate the climate in which such violence can take root — through its divisive rhetoric and nationalist messaging.
In front of the mosque in La Grand-Combe, candles have been lit, and flowers laid down. Handwritten signs read messages such as “Peace,” “Not in Our Name,” and “We Will Not Forget You, Aboubakar.” The small Muslim community in town is in shock — as are many other residents, regardless of religion or origin. The town’s mayor, Patrick Malavieille, gave an emotional press statement: “La Grand-Combe is a place of peaceful coexistence. What happened here goes against everything we stand for as a community.”
Police have since increased security measures around religious institutions in Gard and across France. Muslim communities nationwide have been advised to remain vigilant. But in many places, fear now prevails — not only of potential further attacks but also of the political instrumentalization of the crime.
The concept of laïcité — the strict separation of religion and state — has returned to the spotlight, with renewed controversy. While voices on the right demand more surveillance and further restrictions on public religious expression, left-leaning parties stress the urgent need to combat racism and exclusion with greater determination.
The killing in La Grand-Combe casts a harsh light on the deep fractures running through French society — between religious diversity and secular norms, between republican ideals and social reality. How France responds to this murder may prove to be a litmus test for the current strength of its republican promise: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin called the act an “obviously racially motivated murder” and announced a comprehensive investigation. France’s anti-terror prosecutor is currently evaluating whether the anti-Muslim motive should be formally recognized in legal proceedings. Yet the evidence already strongly suggests a targeted hate crime.
Olivier H. posted the video of the killing on Discord, a chat platform that quickly removed the footage. After the attack, he fled by car and remained on the run for three days. Ultimately, he turned himself in at a police station in Pistoia, near Florence. Reports suggest that family members and acquaintances persuaded him to surrender.
After an initial review of the case, the public prosecutor stated that investigators consider the murder to have been committed “with a racist and Islamophobic motive.” Other possible explanations related to the suspect’s mental health have not been ruled out. Until now, Olivier H. had no criminal record. Very little is known about him beyond the fact that he was receiving unemployment benefits, spent much of his time playing video games, and did not know his victim.
Despite many unanswered questions, one thing is clear: the case has triggered a fierce controversy in French politics — a debate that reflects the increasingly polarized climate of the country. This polarization predates October 7, 2023, and the Hamas terror attack on Israel, but has deepened significantly since.
President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister François Bayrou were quick to react. Both issued strong statements on social media expressing their horror at the crime and calling for national unity. Bayrou described the murder as an act of “Islamophobic disgrace.”
Yet within his own government, not everyone agreed on how to label the attack. Several ministers resisted the term “Islamophobia,” a word that denotes deep fear, rejection, or hostility toward Islam and Muslims. Former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, now Minister for Overseas Territories, called the killing in La Grand-Combe a “horrific act” that might carry “anti-Muslim overtones.” However, he warned against using the term Islamophobia, which he described as an “ideological weapon” long used by Iran’s clerical regime against its opponents. “France,” Valls added pointedly, “is an old Christian country.”
Is this quibbling over terminology? Or a calculated attempt to downplay anti-Muslim hatred? Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau — a conservative from the right wing of his party — also refused to use the word. Unlike his usual practice of promptly visiting sites of national tragedy, Retailleau waited two full days before traveling to La Grand-Combe.
The far-left party La France Insoumise accused the interior minister and the political right more broadly of applying double standards — depending on the religion of the victims. “Islamophobia kills. And everyone who enables it is complicit,” declared party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon during a rally at Paris’s Place de la République. Mélenchon, in turn, has faced criticism for fueling antisemitic sentiments due to his ambiguous stance on Hamas and harsh criticism of Israel in the wake of October 7.
The murder of Aboubakar Cissé comes at a time of escalating social tensions in France. The polarization has many causes — and even more actors. While antisemitic incidents have surged in recent months, especially following Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023, anti-Muslim violence and harassment have also been rising steadily for years.
According to official data, France’s interior ministry recorded over 200 documented Islamophobic offenses in 2024 alone. These range from vandalism of mosques and threatening letters to outright physical assaults.
A particularly troubling aspect of this climate is the media landscape that accompanies it. In the ecosystem of the far-right and identitarian movements, hostility toward Islam is actively stoked. Conservative media mogul Vincent Bolloré plays a key role in this. His outlets — including CNews and Europe 1 — provide a regular platform for inflammatory rhetoric. Commentators on these channels frequently rail against “Islamist separatism” or portray France’s Muslim population as a “demographic threat.” Critics argue that such coverage is helping normalize Islamophobia in public discourse — all under the guise of so-called “plainspoken free speech.”
Whether Olivier H. was directly influenced by this media environment remains unclear. Investigators describe his statements during interrogation as inconsistent. He did express open hatred of Islam, but so far, there is no concrete evidence of organized radicalization through online forums or extremist groups. Authorities are continuing to comb through his digital footprint.
As the nation debates terminology and responsibility, the community of La Grand-Combe is left to mourn. Aboubakar Cissé was well known in the neighborhood. Described as helpful, quiet, and well-integrated, he was someone who rolled up his sleeves when needed and was active in the mosque and the local community. The brutality of his murder has left many in town reeling.
In the days following the attack, a fundraising campaign was launched — first by members of the Muslim community, then joined by many other residents. The goal: to raise enough money to return Aboubakar’s body to Mali, to the village where he was born and where his parents and siblings still live. The response was swift and generous. Within 48 hours, donations had reached five figures.
“This is the least we can do for him,” said Souleymane Traoré, a friend of Cissé. “He died in a country that was supposed to become his new home. But his final rest should be where his roots are.”
The town is also planning an interfaith memorial service in the main square. Christians, Muslims, and non-believers — all are expected to join in a united stand against hate, division, and fear. Many hope that La Grand-Combe will not be remembered as a place of violence, but as a community that stood together when the unthinkable happened.
