Attack in Trappes: media and political leaders who fuel hatred must be held accountable
“An attack with racist, probably Islamophobic connotations”: this is how the mayor of Trappes, Ali Rabeh, describes the deadly attack that occurred in Trappes and La Verrière. Emmanuel Macron also denounces a “racist terrorist attack”. According to a provisional report, the attack left one dead and five injured, including a 12-year-old girl. The assailant drove around Trappes and La Verrière, opening fire with an automatic weapon in several locations, including near a gas station, a medical center and a playground. The suspect was arrested and the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office took over the investigation.
We must denounce those who fuel hatred of Muslims in the media and in politics. Those who constantly present them as a threat, make the veil an obsession and maintain suspicion among millions of citizens. This uninhibited Islamophobia benefits from an unbearable complacency. Those who spend their time smearing Muslims on stage and in political speeches cannot pretend to discover the hatred they help to fuel. By designating Muslims as a problem, they trivialize hostility towards them.
The investigation will establish the perpetrator’s motivations and criminal responsibilities. But it must not serve as a pretext to avoid the political and media responsibility of those who spread the amalgamations and collective accusations. Offering condolences while continuing to fuel this hostility is unbearable hypocrisy. We must also demand accountability from those who invite these speeches, revive them and give them an audience every day. Muslims have the right to live in security, without being constantly asked to justify their religion or their belonging to France. They do not have to accept daily humiliations or wait for the next violence for their concerns to finally be taken seriously.
Following the terrorist attack on Friday October 23, the mayor of Trappes, Ali Rabeh, described the event as “an attack of a racist and probably Islamophobic nature.” https://t.co/PkYNBZC1ZR
— Oumma.com (@oumma) October 23, 2026
