France has seen a lot in these past few years. The country has been in a state of emergency voted to last until this July since the Paris attacks of 2015. Just last night, one police officer was killed and two others were injured in a shooting on the famous Avenue des Champs Elysées. Although new details are beginning to emerge, the incident is still shrouded in confusion.
The shooter has been identified by French authorities as 39-year old Karim Cherufi, who has a lengthy criminal record and a history of jail time, and ISIS wasted no time in claiming responsibility for the attack. However, this is where it gets confusing: ISIS provided a different name as its “fighter” who carried out the attack, and though a note praising the Islamic State and a Quran were found alongside weapons at the scene of the crime, Cherufi had previously “shown no signs of radicalization,” according to Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins.
Was the shooter acting alone? What was his motive?
The officer killed, Xavier Jugele, had been deployed to the area around the Bataclan concert hall after the attack in November of 2015 that left over 100 dead – also the doing of ISIS. Additionally, he actively campaigned for gay rights, according to French local media. Not to mention the timing and the subjects raise fears as well – France is holding the first round of its presidential election this Sunday, and worries that terrorists will choose the crowds of voters as victims have already been prevalent, with thousands of police troops to protect voters at the polls. It’s also the latest in a series of attacks on French soldiers and security; soldiers at the Louvre were targeted this February and at the Orly airport just last month.
Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate backed by President Trump for her strong border policy, spoke out and called for the closure of all Islamic mosques and to expel radical Islamists; she has been criticized by Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve for trying to exploit the event politically, while her opponent Jean-Luc Mélenchon said that “the violent must be shown that they will not have the last word against republicans.”
French citizens are remaining strong despite the shadow of yet another terrorist attack in their country, whatever the circumstances of it may be. As Dennis Jacob of the Alternative Police Union said, “This is the moment of paying respect, solidarity, and support…to express our sadness and anger facing this new attack in which one of our own has died for France, serving the French population.” May the rest of the world express our solidarity as well, and keep the families and officers involved, as well as the citizens of Paris and France, in our thoughts.
