This archive report was first published on 28 October 2019.
On Monday afternoon, a disturbing incident unfolded in Bayonne, France, where an 80-year-old man, identified as Claude Sinke, attempted to set fire to the door of a mosque. The suspect, who had previously stood as a candidate for Marine Le Pen's National Front in the 2015 regional elections, was confronted by two men, aged 74 and 78, who tried to stop him.
According to a police statement, Sinke opened fire, seriously injuring the two men, who were later taken to a nearby hospital. The suspect was arrested near his home, where a car had also been set on fire outside the mosque.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner expressed his solidarity and support to the Muslim community, stating that the events 'pain every one of us' and that he shared the 'shock and horror' Muslims must be feeling.
Le Pen described the incident as 'an unspeakable act' and stated that the man's actions were 'absolutely contrary to the values of our movement.'
The mosque has been cordoned off for investigations, and a bomb squad was sent to Sinke's home in Saint-Martin-de-Seignanx, a town of 5,000 people, approximately 16 kilometers from Bayonne.
Police found three sub-military grade weapons at Sinke's home, which he had voluntarily declared to investigators.
This incident comes just hours after President Emmanuel Macron urged France's Muslims to step up the fight against 'separatism' in the wake of the latest attack by an Islamist radical on French soil.
France has experienced intermittent attacks on mosques since 2007, including the desecration of a national military cemetery near Arras and a shooting at a mosque in Brest in June this year.
