Kurdish community, anti-racism groups hold demonstration after deadly Paris shooting

PARIS (AP) — Kurdish activists, left-wing politicians and anti-racism groups demonstrated Saturday in Paris after three people were killed at a Kurdish cultural center in an attack that prosecutors say was racially motivated.

The shooting in a bustling neighborhood of central Paris also wounded three people, and stirred up concerns about hate crimes against minority groups at a time when far-right voices have gained prominence in France and around Europe in recent years.

The suspected attacker was wounded and is in custody. He is a 69-year-old Parisian who was charged last year with attacking migrants and was released earlier this month. He is facing potential charges of murder and attempted murder with a racist motive, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Saturday.

Thousands gathered Saturday at the Place de la Republique in eastern Paris, waving a colorful spectrum of flags representing Kurdish rights groups, political parties and other causes.

The gathering was largely peaceful, but some youths threw projectiles and skirmished with police firing tear gas. Some protesters shouted slogans against the Turkish government.

The shooting shook the Kurdish community in the French capital and put police on extra alert for the Christmas weekend.

Demonstrators throw stones toward police who fire tear gas to disperse them during a protest against the recent shooting at the Kurdish culture center in Paris, December 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

The Paris police chief met Saturday with members of the Kurdish community to try to allay their fears ahead of Saturday’s rally at the Place de la Republique.

Friday’s attack took place at the cultural center and a nearby restaurant and hair salon. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the suspect was clearly targeting foreigners, had acted alone, and was not officially affiliated with any extreme-right or other radical movements. The suspect had past convictions for illegal arms possession and armed violence.

Kurdish activists said they had recently been warned by police of threats to Kurdish targets.

In 2013, three women Kurdish activists, including Sakine Cansiz, a founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, were found shot dead at a Kurdish center in Paris.

Turkey’s army has been battling against Kurdish militants affiliated with the banned PKK in southeast Turkey as well as in northern Iraq. Turkey’s military also recently launched a series of air and artillery strikes against Syrian Kurdish militant targets in northern Syria.