Racist crime: Killing of Tunisian sparks outcry over Islamophobia in France Article by RFI

The fatal shooting of Hichem Iraoui, a Tunisian national, in southern France has ignited renewed outrage over the country’s handling of racially motivated violence. French authorities have launched a hate crime investigation, while Tunisia calls for stronger protection of its citizens abroad. The case has deepened concerns over a growing climate of Islamophobia and racial hostility, with critics accusing the French government of enabling toxic rhetoric through complacency and far-right alliances.

Hichem Iraoui was murdered on May 31 in the Var department in southern France. According to Draguignan’s public prosecutor, Pierre Couttenier, the perpetrator "posted two videos on his social networking account with racist and hateful content before and after his murder", Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The suspect, a French national, was arrested in a car loaded with weapons. He is alleged to have killed Iraoui and seriously wounded another man of Turkish nationality. The case has now been transferred to France’s national anti-terrorist unit, which is investigating a racial motive behind the attack.

Racist crime

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau characterized the killing as a “racist crime, given the evidence we currently have”, and emphasized, “racism in France and elsewhere is a poison, and a poison that kills. Every racist act is an anti-French act.”

In a telephone call with Retailleau, Tunisia’s Interior Minister Khaled Nouri stressed “the need to ensure the protection of the Tunisian community on French territory”, according to a statement from the Tunisian ministry published on Facebook. Nouri further urged French authorities “to adopt a proactive approach to prevent such crimes and ensure that they do not happen again.”

Growing alarm over Islamophobia

The murder of Iraoui follows closely on the heels of another high-profile incident: the killing of Aboubakar Cissé, a Malian man fatally stabbed while praying in a mosque in April. Both cases have sparked widespread concern over rising Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment in France.

Critics blame hostile political climate

Anti-racism organization SOS Racisme condemned what it described as a normalized environment of hate in France. "These crimes are flourishing in a poisonous climate: racist rhetoric has become commonplace, the media are complacent towards the far right, and there are worrying institutional signals," the group said in a post on X.

Mourad Battikh, the lawyer representing Iraoui’s family, echoed these concerns during an interview with France Info, stating the killing is "the result of an atmosphere that has existed in the country for several months now, even years, which is becoming a bit harsher by the day".

Retailleau himself has frequently been accused by the political left of stoking racial tensions, particularly through his rhetoric on immigration and Islam.

Socialist Party Secretary Olivier Faure criticized Retailleau in an interview with TF1, noting that although he had condemned the killing, “he is taking part in the public debate with those on the far right who are trying to trivialise racism, to show that there is some kind of threat created by our fellow citizens of foreign origin.”

Pyromaniacs putting out the fire

Retailleau drew further ire after referring to rioters who disrupted celebrations of Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League victory as “barbarians”—a term widely condemned by the left as racially charged.

Battikh, who also represents the family of Aboubakar Cissé, stopped short of assigning blame to specific individuals, but was scathing in his critique of the broader political climate: "the political context and climate that prevail in France today" are like witnessing "pyromaniac firemen who have come to put out a fire that they themselves started".