French President orders crackdown on Muslims following beheading incident

PARIS: The French government ordered the temporary closure of the Grand Mosque of Pantin, located in a low-income neighborhood in the outskirts of the capital.

This strategy is part of a crackdown on Muslims, in the aftermath of the killing (and beheading) of a teacher, who allegedly showed his class caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. The subsequent investigation showed that the Grand Mosque shared a video on its official Facebook page, criticising the history teacher Samuel Paty, for disrespecting the religion by sharing those caricatures.

The police authorities issued notices of closure to the mosque, citing "for the sole purpose of preventing acts of terrorism", promising a tough response to the radical tendencies of the preacher - which, according to the government, could potentially pose a national security risk to the country, if not dealt with.

Over the course of the past few months, especially amid the Macron government's dipping popularity and the economic stagnation that followed the pandemic, the French government has embraced an increasingly hostile rhetoric against Muslims recently. Interior Minister Gerald Darmain said this week France was confronted by an "enemy within."