President Emmanuel Macron of France is expected to visit the victims of the Annecy knife attack, in Haute-Savoie, this Friday. His visit is coming a day after the knife attack which left 6 injured, including 4 young children, AFP reports.
Annecy knife attack which saw six people injured, including four young children, was carried out by a Syrian refugee, said the Elysee.
“Following the attack that occurred yesterday, the President of the Republic and his wife are today going alongside the victims and their families as well as all the people who in Annecy have contributed to bringing them help and support,” said the Elysée.
Thursday after the attack, the French President described the Annecy knife attack as an “attack of absolute cowardice”. “The Nation is in shock,” he wrote on his Twitter account.
The Annecy Knife Attacker was not under the influence of alcohol or narcotics
A Syrian refugee armed with a knife injured six people Thursday morning, including four very young children in a park in Annecy.
The suspect, “a political refugee who would be homeless, arrived in Annecy in the fall of 2022” was “neither under the influence of narcotics nor under the influence of alcohol”, declared the prosecutor of Annecy Line Bonnet-Mathis during a press briefing, according to AFP.
The motivations of the attacker, who spent the night in police custody and can remain so for up to 48 hours, remain obscure at this stage, “without apparent terrorist motive”, according to the prosecution. A psychiatric examination is scheduled for Friday morning, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said Thursday evening.
Children aged 24 to 36 months
Among the injured, were 4 children aged 24 to 36 months, including one of British nationality and another Dutch. They were transferred to Geneva and Grenoble after first aid on site. “Their state of health is extremely fragile, they are still in absolute emergency,” said the prosecutor.
The other two injured are a 70-year-old man and a 78-year-old man, the latter being hospitalized in Annecy.
The attack sparked an avalanche of reactions in the political world, with right-wing and far-right elected officials highlighting the origin and status of the aggressor.