In Saudi Arabia, the November 11 commemorations were targeted on Wednesday by an explosive attack that left two injured in a non-Muslim cemetery in Jeddah.

The director of the Maison de France in Jeddah, Sabrina Belmaaziz, reacts to the microphone of Europe 1.

TESTIMONY

An explosive attack took place on Wednesday in Jeddah, a city in western Saudi Arabia.

The attack took place in a non-Muslim cemetery during the November 11 commemorative ceremonies.

Two people were injured and the concerns of French nationals are rekindled, after the tensions that followed the Muhammad cartoons.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, had warned of a risk of risky attack, of which Sabrina Belmaaziz had so far not taken the measure.

She runs the Maison de France in Jeddah and testifies at the microphone of Europe 1.

"We are used to living serenely in Saudi Arabia. The French were not used to being targeted and I have never been confronted with attacks or bombs", recalls Sabrina Belmaaziz first, while the context has recently become strained between the Western and Arab-Muslim worlds.

Change of lifestyle

The question now arises, for these nationals, of a possible "adaptation" to this new situation for French interests in the Middle East.

"No, I haven't changed my way of life yet, but I'm going to change it," says the representative of the French community.

"I will already stay calmly at home."

This is the second attack targeting French interests in Jeddah, after that of October 29 against a security guard at the French consulate.

"This is the second time in ten days. It's still a lot!" She said. 

An investigation launched

A Greek consular employee and a Saudi policeman were slightly injured in the attack.

"The security services have launched an investigation into the cowardly aggression during a gathering of foreign consuls," the governorate said.

In a joint statement, the consulates represented at the ceremony - France, Greece, Italy, Great Britain and the United States - "strongly condemned the cowardly attack on innocent people".

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In Paris, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the ceremony in Jeddah, "involving several consulates general including the French consulate, was the target of an explosive device attack, which caused several injuries" .