French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has declared that France is “durably under threat from Islamist terrorism” following a stabbing incident near the Eiffel Tower.
The attacker, Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab, a 26-year-old French national of Iranian descent, fatally stabbed a German tourist and injured two others. According to France’s top anti-terrorism prosecutor, Rajabpour-Miyandoab recorded a video in Arabic before the attack, pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group and expressing support for Islamist extremists worldwide.
BREAKING: Terror attack in Paris near Eiffel Tower, 1 killed, 2 injured by man yelling 'Allahu Akbar' https://t.co/67CDdRo6bc
— Human Events (@HumanEvents) December 3, 2023
Three others, including family members and associates, were taken into police custody for questioning.
Rajabpour-Miyandoab converted to Islam at 18 and embraced extremist ideology. In 2016, he planned to join the Islamic State in Syria and was convicted, receiving a four-year prison sentence until 2020. Under psychiatric treatment and on a list for feared radicals, he faced surveillance after completing his mandatory psychiatric care earlier in the year. In October, his mother expressed concerns about his isolation, but no grounds for criminal proceedings were found.
The Interior Minister, Darmanin, revealed that around one-third of suspected radicals under surveillance have psychiatric issues, advocating for expanded powers to mandate psychiatric treatment in such cases. Despite the attacker’s psychiatric history, authorities did not find evidence for criminal action post-treatment.
The Islamist who screamed "Allahu Akbar" while attacking tourists on the Quai De Grenelle in #Paris tonight was reportedly known to security services.
Identified locally as Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab, he had been arrested in 2016 for planning a similar attack.
Follow and keep… pic.twitter.com/gu2Uw2HA7A
— HumanDilemma (@HumanDilemma_) December 2, 2023
During the attack, Rajabpour-Miyandoab approached a German couple for a cigarette and then attacked the 22-year-old male victim, exhibiting knowledge of where to strike. A taxi driver intervened, and as police pursued, the suspect ran across a bridge, injuring two more people with a hammer while shouting “Allahu Akbar.” The incident has raised concerns for Paris, especially with the upcoming Olympic Games.
France has been on high alert since a fatal stabbing in October and the 2016 killing of a priest and police couple
Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra reassured that France is prepared to safeguard the Olympic Games’ opening ceremony along the River Seine emphasizing their commitment to ensuring security despite the absence of a specific “Plan B.”
