France: Kurds in Europe pay tribute to the dead of the shooting in Paris

Members of the Kurdish community gather with flags to pay tribute to the three victims of the shooting in rue Enghien, in the northern suburbs of Paris, in Villiers-le-Bel, on January 3, 2023. AFP - JULIEN DE ROSA

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

The Kurds gathered this Tuesday in the Val d'Oise in Villiers-le-Bel for a funeral ceremony for the three victims killed rue d'Enghien in Paris at the end of December in a racist shooting.

A way for the community to pay a last tribute to the three victims while asking France to continue to protect them.

Publicity

Read more

They were several thousand Kurds from France, but also from Belgium or Switzerland to meet in Villiers-le-Bel.

The place chosen, between warehouses, was not chosen at random, because it is easier to secure than an open street, says our special correspondent

.

It is thus necessary to take a narrow alley before arriving in front of the coffins of the three Kurds assassinated on December 23rd.

The three deceased were

in front of the Ahmet-Kaya cultural center on rue d'Enghien in Paris.

The shooter,

was disarmed and arrested shortly after.

Before the investigators, the 69-year-old man, already known to the courts for acts of violence and who had just come out of pre-trial detention for another case, expressed a " 

" and said he wanted " 

 ", according to the Paris prosecutor's office.

►Also read: 

The deputy mayor of Villiers-le-Bel, Djida Djallali-Techtach, delivers a speech during a funeral service for the three victims of the shooting in rue Enghien, in the northern suburbs of Paris, in Villiers-le- Bel, January 3, 2023. AFP - BERTRAND GUAY

The Kurds do not want to be abandoned

On January 3, the families and loved ones of the victims also made the trip, of course, recalling on a platform in front of the crowd the journey of each of them, their life in France, their projects, but above all their commitment to all a community.

This whole ceremony was very supervised by an important police force, as well as by a service of order set up by the organizers of this commemoration.

And this is also one of the messages that we often hear here: the Kurds present are asking the French state not to abandon them.

The vast majority of them say that they fled Turkey and came to France to feel and be safe, and with one voice refuse that this will change.

►Also listen: 

It is with great emotion that we invite you to the funeral ceremony of the three #Kurdish activists who were victims of the terrorist attack against the #CDKF on 23 Dec.

See you on January 3, 2023, 12

p.m. 📍 Palace of Villiers, 12 bis avenue des Entrepreneurs 95400 Villiers le Bel pic.twitter.com/xYpcPuEN6R

— Kurdish Democratic Council in France (@Le_CDKF) December 30, 2022

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

• Kurds

• Racism

• Company

• France