Protesters clash with French police near the Rue d'Enghien in Paris, after the shooting. Reuters
Protesters clash with French police near the Rue d'Enghien in Paris, after the shooting. Reuters
Protesters clash with French police near the Rue d'Enghien in Paris, after the shooting. Reuters
Protesters clash with French police near the Rue d'Enghien in Paris, after the shooting. Reuters

Tear gas fired as violent protests break out after Kurds killed in Paris attack


Holly Johnston
  • English
  • Arabic

Eleven police officers have been injured in protests in Paris, after three people were killed by a gunman in the centre of the capital on Friday morning.

The suspected gunman was identified in French media as 69-year-old "William M". He was arrested in the city's 10th district shortly after the three people were killed. The victims were later confirmed to be members of the Kurdish community.

Officials condemned the “heinous attack” that targeted a Kurdish cultural centre, restaurant and hair salon in the bustling neighbourhood near the Gare du Nord railway station.

A young woman and a musician were among the victims, the Kurdish Institute of Paris said in a statement.

The Kurdish Democratic Council of France held a minute of silence for the victims and said the head of the Kurdish Women's Movement in France is among the dead.

The alleged gunman was released from prison in recent weeks and had previously been convicted of racially motivated attacks, including attempted murder in a knife attack on a migrant camp last December.

His elderly father said he had been living at his parents' home in the capital since his release on December 12 and was "withdrawn."

"He didn't live like everyone else," he told AFP. "He said nothing when he left this morning."

Their home is now being searched by police.

The Kurdish community has been shaken by the attack, the institute said ahead of a press conference.

Crowds gathered at the Rue d'Enghien on Friday afternoon, clashing with police, who fired tear gas at demonstrators.

Confrontations broke out after Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin visited the scene of the attack.

The minister said the gunman "clearly wanted to kill foreigners" but said it was uncertain if he targeted Kurds in particular.

Despite his past, the alleged gunman was not known to intelligence services and was not previously known as a member of the far-right, Mr Darmanin said.

He is also a member of shooting club and had a number of declared weapons, the minister said.

The nearby Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis was “drowning” in tear gas as protesters hurled rocks at police, Le Monde reported on Friday evening.

Video footage posted to social media showed riot police running away as people threw traffic cones and bar stools in their direction. Bins were also set alight and barricades erected, Le Monde reported.

In the southern city of Marseille, mounted police took to the streets after crowds gathered with Kurdish flags in the city centre.

French President Emmanuel Macron denounced Friday's attack.

"The Kurds of France have been targeted in a hateful attack in the heart of Paris," Mr Macron said on Twitter.

"Thoughts to the victims and those fighting for their lives."

It came just weeks before the 10th anniversary of the murder of three Kurdish activists in the same district.

Three women were shot to death in broad daylight in January 2013, shocking France. One of the victims was a co-founder of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), a Kurdish group which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish government.

Police have said they will investigate racial motivations behind Friday's attack but said the gunman's motives remain unclear.

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Schedule (All times UAE)
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Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.

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Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history

Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)

Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.

 

Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)

A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.

 

Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)

Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.

 

Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)

Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
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UAE fixtures

Thursday, February 8 v Kenya; Friday, February v Canada; Sunday, February 11 v Nepal; Monday, February 12 v Oman; Wednesday, February 14 v Namibia; Thursday, February 15 final

UPI facts

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Updated: December 23, 2022, 8:38 PM`