Two Muslim women were ‘stabbed repeatedly’ under the Eiffel Tower amid rising tensions in Paris after the beheading of a teacher last week.
French police have arrested two female suspects following the suspected racist attacks, which were allegedly accompanied by the words ‘Dirty Arabs’.
Those in custody are described as being white women of ‘European appearance’, who now face ‘attempted murder’ charges, said city prosecutors.
It follows the gruesome killing of 47-year-old teacher Samuel Paty last Friday by a refugee Islamist terrorist after cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammed were shown to a secondary school class on freedom of speech.
President Emmanuel Macron is working on a bill to address Islamic radicals, who authorities claim are creating a parallel society outside French values.
But members of France’s five million plus Muslim community have complained of ‘Islamophobia’ caused by a clampdown on mosques and Muslim organisations.
The victims of the attacks have been identified as French women from an Algerian background named only as Kenza, 49, and Amel, who is a few years younger.
Girl heard screaming after stabbing underneath Eiffel Tower
French police have arrested two female suspects following the suspected racist attacks, which were allegedly accompanied by the words ‘Dirty Ara
Teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded in the Paris suburbs on Friday after he shared cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in class, leading Brahim Chinina, the father of a girl in his class, to issue what France’s interior minister called a ‘fatwa’ against him
Demonstrators gathered in several French cities to support freedom of speech after history teacher Samuel Paty was brutally murdered by an Islamic extremist for showing his class caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. Pictured: Several people held signs reading ‘Je suis Prof, Je suis Samuel’ (meaning ‘I am a teacher, I am Samuel) to echo the ‘I am Charlie’ rallying cry after the 2015 attack on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo
Kenza was stabbed six times and ended up in hospital with a punctured lung, while surgery was carried out on one of Amel’s hands, said an investigating source.
No information was initially released about the attack on, leading to uproar on social media, where confirmed images from the scene circulated.
A chilling video records screaming as the stabbings are carried out on Sunday evening. Police confirmed the incident had taken place last night.
A statement from Paris Police read: ‘On October 18, at around 8pm, the police intervened following an emergency call from two women wounded by knives on the Champs-de-Mars’ – the Field of Mars by the Eiffel Tower.
A source at the Paris prosecutors’ office confirmed on Wednesday: ‘An investigation for attempted murder has been opened in connection with the stabbings.’