Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: A nation in shock after knife attack on toddlers

Our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about in France - and of course the news this week has been dominated by shock and horror at the appalling attack in Annecy, in which four toddlers and two adults were stabbed.

Published: 10 June 2023 07:44 CEST
Inside France: A nation in shock after knife attack on toddlers
Candles and flowers at the playground in the Jardins de l'Europe in Annecy, the scene of a knife attack in which four children and two adults were seriously injured. Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP

Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.

Horror

“A nation in shock” is how Emmanuel Macron put it, and that’s a good description for the horror that has gripped France after a man armed with a knife entered a children’s playground and stabbed – apparently at random – four toddlers and two adults. 

READ ALSO Annecy knife attack: What we know so far

The pretty Alpine town of Annecy – best known for its beautiful lake and a popular tourist spot in summer and winter alike – is now trying to come to terms with this appalling tragedy while also fending off the unwelcome attentions of the far-right.

The town’s Green mayor, François Astorg, has pleaded for calm and for the town to be allowed to grieve. Local authorities put in place a ban on demonstrations on the evening of the attack, after calls for far-right activists to gather in Annecy.

Politics

There is of course still a lot that we don’t know about the attacker and his motivations, but the fact that he described himself to police as a “Christian Syrian asylum seeker” was enough for some.

Although he had applied for asylum in France he should more correctly be described as a refugee, since he had been granted asylum in Sweden, where he was living until November 2022. His application in France was rejected because he already had refugee status in Sweden.

Eric Ciotti, the new leader of Les Républicains, immediately declared the attack “a terrorist act” and called for new laws on immigration.

Compared to him, far-right leader Marine Le Pen was relatively restrained in the first hours after the attack, restricting herself to expressions of shock, horror and sympathy for the families – although her deputy Jordan Bardella was a lot less restrained.

Les Républicains – the party of De Gaulle, Chirac and Sarkozy and the dominant force in French post-war politics until 2017 – is traditionally described as a ‘centre right’ party. But this illusion can no longer be maintained under the leadership of Ciotti who seems determined to out-radicalise the far-right. 

Podcast

Our Talking France podcast was made before the attack happened, which is why we don’t talk about it, but there are lots of other topics to consider – such as who ‘won’ the pension strikes and whether this means a strike-free summer, whether French mayors can hike your water bills and how to make the most of summer in France.

Listen here or on the link below.

Marmitegate

And on a lighter note, I really enjoyed the reactions to this tweet – it’s always funny to see how other nationalities view your country’s local specialities and treasured traditions.

I’m a lover of Marmite (which I’m informed was invented by a German, although lots of countries have a variation on the salty yeast spread) but even within the UK it’s not uncontroversial. 

Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: Political farce, far-right fears and sharks under Paris

This week in France has been heavily focused on politics due to the surprise election, from the soap opera and the memes of the right-wing parties to grumpy faces among the Macronists, plus some light relief in the form of the weird stuff underneath Paris.

Published: 15 June 2024 11:41 CEST
Inside France: Political farce, far-right fears and sharks under Paris

Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.

Ciotti chuckles

Anyone who says that the French have no sense of humour has clearly not spent any time on French social media this week as the jokes and memes came thick and fast in response to the ridiculous election shenanigans of the once-mighty right-wing Les Républicains party.

You can find the full details here but to cut a long story short, party leader Eric Ciotti announced an election alliance with the far-right, his fellow party bigwigs were horrified and attempted to expel him, Ciotti locked himself inside the party HQ and refused to allow anyone in, leaders held their meeting elsewhere and voted to expel him from the party, Ciotti refused to accept their verdict and posted a video of him showing up at work as normal the following day, insisting he was still in charge.

The whole thing was a gift for anyone with a Twitter account and a sense of humour. 

Sense of humour

The whole idea that ‘the French aren’t funny’ is an oddly enduring trope. I think it’s to do with the fact that French humour is often highly referential, making it hard for foreigners to get if they don’t understand the references.

READ ALSO 5 tips for understanding French humour and jokes

Far right

Funny as the whole Ciotti episode was, it didn’t quite distract from the widespread horror in France at the prospect of a far-right government, and bafflement over Emmanuel Macron’s high-stakes election gamble.

His announcement on Sunday night of a snap election took the country and the media entirely by surprise and seemed to catch plenty of his own party members off guard too.

The election is a gamble – un pari – Macron is banking on the country to reject the far-right at the polls and hand his party back an absolute majority in parliament. This could happen, or Marine Le Pen’s party could win and Macron would then go down in history as the man who handed the keys of government to the far-right. Or – and most analysts think this is the most likely scenario – no party could win an absolute majority and the parliament could be plunged into an even more messy deadlock.

READ ALSO What do the snap elections mean for France?

One of the most outspoken critics has been Gabriel Attal, the 35-year-old prime minister often described as a Macron protege. This photo of him with a face like thunder has become another meme, embodying all those who think that this election is a very bad idea. 

Talking France

We of course talk about the elections in a special episode of the Talking France podcast – listen here. During the election period we will be releasing the podcast on Mondays, and we will also be doing a bi-weekly election breakdown for anyone who wants to stay in touch with the latest – sign up here.

Sharknado

And if you want something to help you switch off from all the politics, I highly recommend the new Netflix film Sous la Seine (Under Paris). Not because it’s good – it’s not, in fact it’s terrible but it’s so bad that it’s actually hilarious. 

One thing that you might write off as dramatic licence is the idea of an enormous underground lake beneath Paris – but this is actually true. In fact, there’s a lot weird shit under Paris . . .

Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.

SHOW COMMENTS