I’knife attack perpetrated Thursday, June 8 in a park in Annecy shocked the whole city and, with it, the whole country. While the six injured, including four young children, are now out of danger, hundreds of people gathered Sunday morning on the shores of Lake Annecy to support them. The assailant was charged with ” assassination attempts » and placed in pre-trial detention on Saturday, without the investigation having yet made it possible to understand his gesture.
Under a radiant sun, the Pâquier, a vast promenade located on the shores of the city’s lake, was crowded around 11 a.m. for this “citizen gathering” organized by the City, noted an AFP journalist. It was in his children’s park that the drama took place on Thursday. “Alba, Ennio, Ettie, Peter, a little thought,” says a message addressed to the little victims inscribed in a heart on a bench in the kindergarten.
The public present, with serious faces, was very diverse: families, young people or older people. Many had laid flowers on the playground, which added to dozens of bouquets.
Faced with such an act of “cruelty and barbarism”, “there is no other choice but to respond with unity, solidarity and hope”, declared the ecologist mayor of Annecy, François Astorg . ” We are together. We will face together, ”added the city councilor, warmly applauded like the rescuers present on Thursday. The crowd then sang the Marseillaise.
Himself targeted by hateful messages from the far right which accuses him of having favored immigration, the elected official called in his speech to “choose love against destruction”, to react with “empathy and courage”, to “not give in to fear, to the temptation of mistrust”.
In the audience, Shana Barragan, a 27-year-old teacher, said she was “upset”: “It’s good to see that there are so many people who are here. But it’s still painful. “Very moved, the crowd applauded when a singer came to interpret Juliette Greco, the oldest humming in chorus the refrain: “Speak to me of love, tell me tender things. »
“Life must go on… We must not live in fear, we must live in hope,” insists Jean-Paul Naville, a 64-year-old retiree, who came as a neighbor for the rally.
” Absence of frank delusional elements »
Abdelmasih H. has remained silent since his arrest. The psychiatrist who examined him ” noted the absence of frank delusional elements »but it is still too early to comment on a possible ” psychiatric pathology », said Annecy prosecutor Line Bonnet during a press conference on Saturday. Investigations are continuing for ” understand his motivations »for his part, underlined the zonal boss of the judicial police, Damien Delaby, specifying that the case had mobilized more than a hundred investigators.
The vital prognosis of the six injured, most of them hospitalized in absolute emergency after the attack, is no longer engaged, the prosecutor also announced on Saturday. A 2-year-old boy, hit in the stomach and chest, is still being treated in Grenoble, as is a little girl of the same age, treated for ” three chest wounds ». Hit by a stab wound, a 3-year-old British tourist will be able to leave Grenoble hospital ” in the next few days ». Finally, a 22-month-old Dutch boy is still being treated in Geneva for three stab wounds, according to the magistrate.
A 73-year-old Portuguese walker, stabbed three times and then shot by police during the arrest, ” could be heard by the investigators ». More slightly injured, the other adult, a 78-year-old Frenchman, quickly returned home.
The “courage” of ordinary heroes
During Sunday’s rally, the mayor of Annecy François Astorg paid tribute to all those who, during the attack, “acted with courage and professionalism”.
Among these ordinary heroes, two municipal agents tried to stop the attacker with a shovel, a young pedal boat rental company and a mathematics teacher on an outing with students tried to intervene, a childminder rushed to rescue two injured children, a young Catholic tourist chased the attacker…
” I would like to salute the citizens who, through their action, have been able to preserve human lives »declared the prosecutor Saturday in front of the press, before greeting ” the commitment of the emergency services » And ” responsiveness of public security services ». The President of the Republic had already expressed his ” gratitude » and his ” pride » Friday during an official ceremony organized at the prefecture of Haute-Savoie. He had lingered in particular with Henri, the young Catholic pilgrim, celebrated on social networks as ” backpack hero ».
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The hashtag #MerciHenri has become an antiphon on far-right accounts, which are also focused on the hashtag #Francocide, a term notably used by Éric Zemmour. On the evening of the attack, a few dozen ultra-right activists gathered in the park and then in the streets of Annecy, chanting ” Blue, white, red, France to the French ». Namely targeted by hateful messages, the mayor of Annecy filed a complaint against X on Saturday morning for ” intimidation » And ” defamation »we learned from his services.
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After fleeing his country at war, Abdelmasih H. had obtained, at the end of 2013, a permanent residence permit in Sweden, where he had obtained asylum, which conferred on him refugee status. ” No terrorist motivation appears at this stage », according to the prosecutor. Witnesses only heard it ” evoke his wife and daughter and pronounce the name of Jesus Christ » during the attack.