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Twenty-four hours after the anti-Semitic and xenophobic attack in Halle, Saxony, which caused two deaths, reactions are multiplying in Germany. Several politicians took the floor or went on site.
With our special correspondent in Halle, Pascal Thibaut
" Zero tolerance ". Angela Merkel promised Thursday the greatest firmness. We must " use all means of the rule of law to fight hatred, violence, " said the Chancellor on the move to Nuremberg.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who visited the synagogue in Halle at mid-day, where the attacker tried to enter on Wednesday, spoke of " a day of shame and opprobrium " for Germany, 75 years after Holocaust. He asked for better protection of the Jewish community.
Its president, Joseph Schuster, also present on the spot reiterated his criticism against the absence of the police in front of the synagogue Wednesday during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
Interior Minister Horst Seehofer at his side pledged additional efforts and stressed that the antisemitic danger and the risk of violent attacks by the far right were very important.
The anti-terrorist prosecutor in charge of the case, Peter Frank, was clear: " What happened yesterday was terrorism ", saying that the young man " intended to commit a massacre " and that four kilos of homemade explosive were found in his car
More broadly, the resurgence of anti-Semitic acts in Germany is worrying. Last year, they rose almost 20% from 2017 to 1,800 according to the police.
Beyond this violence, a debate is developing on the ground that would constitute for some the speech of the extreme right party Alternative for Germany (AfD).