AMN / WEB DESK
– A wave of shocking anti-Muslim attacks unfolded across the French capital and its suburbs on the morning of September 9, when nine mosques were targeted in a coordinated act of hatred. Worshippers and mosque leaders arriving for the dawn prayer were met with gruesome scenes: severed pig heads, smeared with blue paint and dripping with fresh blood, deliberately placed at the entrances of their places of worship.
According to Le Monde the most chilling discovery was reported by Najat Benali, rector of the Javel mosque in the 15th arrondissement of Paris and president of the Coordination of Muslim Associations of Paris, which represents 15 mosques. At 6:30 am, she received a frantic call from her staff. “A pig’s head, covered in blue paint, was lying on the ground, with blood everywhere,” she recounted with visible distress.
Within an hour, Benali received three more calls from fellow mosque leaders across the city reporting identical acts. At one location, the pig’s head had been stuffed inside a suitcase. According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, nine mosques were targeted in total—four within Paris and five in surrounding suburbs. Several of the severed heads carried the word “MACRON” scrawled in blue ink, raising questions about whether the perpetrators intended to link their actions to political dissent or to taunt the authorities.
The Paris criminal investigation department has taken over the case. Prosecutors confirmed they are investigating charges of public incitement to hatred or violence based on origin, ethnicity, nationality, race, or religion, as well as violence without incapacity. Police sources suggested that the coordinated nature of the acts indicates a well-organized operation rather than isolated incidents.
Growing Climate of Hostility
Muslim leaders and community organizations swiftly condemned the attacks as a dangerous escalation of Islamophobic sentiment in France. “This is not only an insult to our faith but a direct attack on the values of the Republic,” said Benali, urging authorities to ensure better protection of religious sites.
France, home to Europe’s largest Muslim population—estimated at over five million—has witnessed a steady rise in anti-Muslim incidents in recent years. According to watchdog groups, mosques have increasingly been vandalized with graffiti, racist slogans, or desecrated objects. However, the placement of bloody pig heads across multiple mosques in a single night marks a “new and deeply troubling milestone,” analysts said.
Political and Social Reaction
Reactions from political leaders began pouring in throughout the day. Human rights organizations called on the French government to respond with firmness. “The desecration of places of worship cannot be tolerated in a country that prides itself on secularism and freedom of religion,” a spokesperson for the Ligue des droits de l’Homme stated.
Though President Emmanuel Macron had not yet commented publicly at the time of writing, opposition figures demanded immediate condemnation and tougher penalties for hate crimes. Community activists warned that silence from political leaders would risk emboldening extremists.
A Pattern of Intimidation
The choice of pigs’ heads—a symbol considered deeply offensive in Islam, where pork is strictly prohibited—is widely seen as a deliberate act of provocation and humiliation. The fact that the objects were covered in paint, drenched in blood, and in some cases accompanied by political graffiti suggests premeditation intended to instill fear among France’s Muslim citizens.
For many worshippers arriving for morning prayers, the images were too traumatic to erase. “I will never forget the sight,” said one congregant, declining to give his name. “It was meant to scare us. But it also made us more determined to stand together.”