France opens investigation into calls to kill Muslims on “X” platform

PARIS, Oct. 28 (YPA) – The Paris public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into messages containing calls for violence against Muslims that were posted in a chat group on the X platform, and has referred the case to the specialized unit of the judicial police.

According to French media reports citing Agence France-Presse, the messages included racist phrases such as “This is not an Arab country,” “A large number of people must be killed,” and “We should take advantage of street prayers, as they all gather,” in addition to statements targeting Muslims and people of immigrant origin.

Sources explained that the investigation is focused on suspicions of public incitement to hatred and violence based on origin or religion, and calls to commit terrorist acts via electronic communication.

On October 25, Thomas Portes, a member of parliament from the La France Insoumise party, published excerpts from these conversations on his X account, announcing his intention to file a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office. The newspaper Le Parisien confirmed that the prosecutor’s office had begun examining the posts independently of the MP’s complaint.

The investigation follows a growing debate in France about racially motivated violence, after an armed attack in the Yvelines region on October 23 that left one person dead and others injured, an attack described by President Emmanuel Macron as racially motivated and terrorist in nature.