Sawt Falasteen - 'Why this hatred': French town reels over killing of Tunisian man

Tributes poured in from shocked neighbours and friends mourning the murder of Hichem Miraoui, with more than a dozen bouquets placed outside the barbershop where he worked in the quiet town of Puget-sur-Argens.

"I don't understand why he was killed. Why all this hatred?" said Sylvia Elvasorre, a 65-year-old pensioner who lives next to the hair salon, tears in her eyes.

Marwouen Gharssalli, 43, echoed her disbelief, saying his friend was generous and willing to lend a helping hand.

"He even cut hair for free when people couldn't pay... he regularly used to cut my son's hair," said Gharssalli, a welder in the southern town.

A card signed by fellow shopkeepers said the death of Miraoui -- remembered as hard-working and warm -- would "leave a void".

Christophe B., a French national, shot and killed Miraoui, 46, on Saturday evening before injuring another neighbour, a Turkish national. The suspect, born in 1971, was arrested after his partner alerted police.

He posted racist videos on social media both before and after the attack, according to regional prosecutor Pierre Couttenier.

A silent march is planned in Puget-sur-Argens on Sunday to affirm the city's "absolute rejection of hatred and our commitment to respect, tolerance and fraternity," said a town hall statement.

- 'Complete impunity' -

The shooting followed the murder of a Malian man in a mosque in April, also in southern France, while the burning of a Koran near Lyon at the weekend has further fuelled concerns over rising anti-Muslim attacks in the country.

"People are stunned that a racist crime like this could happen. This kind of thing is not part of Puget's culture," said Paul Boudoube, the town's mayor.

Miraoui was in a video call with family planning for the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, when he was shot

"He was joking with our sick mother when I heard him grunt and the call ended," said Hanen Miraoui, the victim's sister.

According to French daily Le Parisien, the suspect in Miraoui's murder said he "swore allegiance to the French flag" and called on the French to "shoot" people of foreign origin in one of his videos posted on social media.

Anti-terrorism prosecutors have taken over the investigation into the case, the first such racist attack linked to the far right to be dealt with as "terrorism" since their office was set up in 2019.

"It means that investigative resources will be devoted to analysing the political motives behind this act and how this person became radicalised," said the legal head of the anti-discrimination group SOS Racisme, Zelie Heran, who praised the referral.

Following the murder, political and religious leaders have sounded the alarm over growing anti-Muslim acts in France, which increased by 72 percent in the first quarter, with 79 recorded cases, according to interior ministry figures.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who is taking an increasingly hard line on immigration issues, has faced accusations of not being firm enough against such crimes and even fuelling a racist climate.

But he said on Tuesday that the killing of Miraoui was "clearly a racist crime", "probably also anti-Muslim" and "perhaps also a terrorist crime."

Chems-Eddine Hafiz, the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, called on French President Emmanuel Macron to speak out.

"It is time to hold accountable the promoters of this hatred who, in political and media circles, act with complete impunity and incite extremely serious acts," said Hafiz.

"Remind people of the reality that we are citizens of this country," said Hafiz.

France is home to the largest Muslim community in the European Union, as well as the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States.

There has also been a rise in reported attacks against members of France's Jewish community since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023 and the Israeli military responded with a devastating military offensive on the Gaza Strip.

France's Holocaust memorial and three Paris synagogues and a restaurant were vandalised with paint on Saturday.

J.Saleh--SF-PST