France: Renewed religious tensions during the Christmas festivities

In the afternoon of Christmas Day, about 150 people gathered outside the administrative offices of Ajaccio, in southern France, to show solidarity with both firefighters and the police officer who had been injured the day before in skirmishes not far from the city.

During the event, the crowd headed to the scene of the incident while chanting anti-Muslim slogans and breaking the windows of the mosque.

In a tweet, the French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, expressed his dissatisfaction over the occurrences.

Corsica after the & # 39; intolerable aggression firefighters, unacceptable desecration of & # 39; a place of prayer Muslim. Compliance with Republic Act & mdash. Manuel Valls (manuelvalls) 25 December 2015

The French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has meanwhile indicated that those responsible for acts of vandalism will be punished to the seriousness of their actions.

“These intolerable abuses, with hints of racism and xenophobia, must be no impunity as they undermine the very values ​​of the Republic”, he said.

However, the incident of Ajaccio is not only a demonstration that degenerated under the measures taken by the French authorities to the approach of the holiday season. Bernard Cazeneuve called on enhancing security around churches.

http://www.euronews.com/2015/12/22/france-security-tightened-at-places-of-worship-ahead-of-festive-season/au

According to him, the latest attacks are of exceptional symbolic force. The French Interior Minister also personally attended the Christmas eve mass to tell all of those who believe in the country (France) will be protected and will ensure their protection at all times, and that secularism is also the freedom to practice religion in peace