Pig heads left outside multiple Mosques in Paris region, probe under way

Paris: French authorities have launched an investigation after at least nine pig heads were discovered outside several mosques in the Paris region on Tuesday, a move officials described as a grave insult to Muslims.

The pig heads were found on public roads in Paris and three nearby suburbs, according to local authorities. France has Europe’s largest Muslim population — more than six million people — for whom pigs are considered impure.

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez confirmed that “an inquiry has been immediately opened,” and wrote on X, “Everything is being done to find the perpetrators of these despicable acts.” He later added, “Every effort is being made to find the perpetrators of these despicable acts,” suggesting further discoveries could not be ruled out.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said pig heads had been found in front of at least two mosques in the capital and one just outside the city limits. A pig head was also discovered in a suitcase near a mosque in the north of the city, it said. At one of the sites, the word “Macron” had been scrawled in blue, an apparent reference to French President Emmanuel Macron, who is currently grappling with political and fiscal unrest.

A special Paris police unit is investigating the incidents on suspicion of incitement to hatred aggravated by discrimination.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau strongly denounced the acts, describing them as “outrageous” and “absolutely unacceptable.” He added, “I want our Muslim compatriots to be able to practice their faith in peace. I understand that they feel hurt.”

Chems-Eddine Hafiz, the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, condemned what he called “Islamophobic acts” and warned of the broader implications. He described the events as “a new and sad stage in the rise of anti-Muslim hatred,” urging “awareness and national solidarity against this dangerous trajectory.”

France is home to both the largest Muslim community in the European Union and the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States. Several EU member states have reported a rise in anti-Muslim hatred and antisemitism since the Gaza war began in October 2023, according to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.

The conflict escalated after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel from Gaza on 7 October 2023, prompting a sustained Israeli assault on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

(With inputs from AFP)