French politicians condemn mosque stabbing attack

PARIS (Reuters) -French politicians on Sunday condemned an attack in which a man was stabbed to death while praying at a mosque in southern France, an incident that was captured on video and disseminated on Snapchat.

President Emmanuel Macron offered his support to the man's family and to the French Muslim community, writing in a post on X: "Racism and religiously motivated hatred will never belong in France."

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau on Sunday visited the town of Ales where Friday's attack took place and met with religious leaders.

He said the suspect, who was still at large, had made anti-Muslim comments and had said he wanted to kill others. "So there is a fascination with violence," Retailleau told French broadcaster BFM TV.

The town's prosecutor told reporters on Sunday the suspect had been identified. The suspect's brother had been questioned by investigators on Saturday.

A march to commemorate the victim took place in the nearby town of La Grand-Combe, on Sunday afternoon and a demonstration against Islamophobia was expected in Paris in the evening.

France, a country that prides itself on its homegrown secularism known as "laicite," has the largest Muslim population in Europe, numbering more than 6 million and making up around 10% of the country's population.

But politicians across the political spectrum, including Macron, have attacked what they described as Islamist separatism and radical Islam, in a way that rights and Muslim groups have said could make it harder for Muslims to express their identity.

The French Council of the Muslim Faith on Sunday urged authorities to launch a national plan to protect Muslim places of worship.

(Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by David Holmes and Ros Russell)