France stabbing: Macron visits child victims of 'cowardly' attack that shocked France

French President on Friday met families of children stabbed in the attack in the Alpine town of Annecy

Tributes near the scene of the stabbing attack at a lakeside park in Annecy, France. PA

French President Emmanuel Macron, who on Friday visited three toddlers injured in a knife attack at a playground in the Alpine town of Annecy, said he has received “positive” news about their condition.

Four young children were among six people stabbed in the picturesque Alpine town of Annecy on Thursday morning as they played in Le Paquier park, a usually tranquil place popular with tourists for its stunning views of Lake Annecy and the mountains.

One of the victims is British and another is from the Netherlands. Two of the children were in a critical but stable condition, officials said earlier on Friday. One of the adults also suffered life-threatening wounds.

Speaking in the south-eastern city of Grenoble where three of the children, including the British toddler, are being treated, Mr Macron said he had heard “positive” news about their condition.

The President, who earlier described the attack as “cowardly”, added: “Everything that I was told is heading in the right direction”.

Two adults, both men in their 70s, were also wounded. The youngest child injured is only 22 months old and the oldest is three.

The fourth child is in a Swiss hospital across the border in Geneva.

The President, accompanied by his wife Brigitte, will also visit those who have “contributed in helping and supporting them”, his office said.

“From what I understand, there are still two children considered to be in critical condition,” government spokesman Olivier Veran told Franceinfo radio on Friday.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne confirmed all four children had undergone surgery and “are under constant medical surveillance”.

Ms Borne also confirmed all four children are in a stable condition in hospital.

Mr Macron is also due to meet a man named Henri who is being hailed as a hero for chasing the attacker from the playground.

The 24-year-old, who was on a walking tour of France's cathedrals at the time, was near the playground when he saw the man attacking children in a pushchair as their mother tried to shield them on Thursday.

On Friday, he said his Catholic faith gave him the strength to fight, and said that it was “God's will” that he was there and able to intervene.

“All I know is that I was not there by chance. On my journey to the cathedrals, I crossed paths with this man and I have acted instinctively. It was unthinkable to do nothing,” the philosophy and management student told CNEWS.

The public prosecutor of Annecy confirmed the suspect's custody had been extended on Friday morning.

Translated to English, a tweet said: “Stab attack in Annecy. The defendant's custody is extended. No other communication planned for this day in the state.”

One of the adults involved suffered serious injuries as a result of a knife wound from the attacker and a bullet wound from police as they shot at the attacker while trying to detain him, according to local prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis.

The suspect, who was pursued by bystanders, was shot at by police and detained. He was not injured and is still being questioned.

Witnesses said the man shouted “in the name of Jesus Christ” as he launched the attack, stabbing a child in a pushchair repeatedly as bystanders screamed for help.

“Children and one adult are between life and death. The nation is in shock,” Mr Macron said.

Ms Borne said during a press conference in Annecy: “These are very small children who were very seriously injured – as a parent and citizen, we are already very shocked.”

When asked if there would be anger over the suspect's being a migrant, Ms Borne said “solidarity must come first”.

The prosecutor in Annecy confirmed the detained man, later identified as Abdelmasih Hanoun, whom investigators describe as a “declared and devout Christian”, was of no fixed address and did not appear to have a “terrorist motive”.

Officials said he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, was not known by any intelligence service and did not have “any history of psychiatric problems”.

Ms Borne said Mr Hanoun had been granted asylum in Sweden and had entered France legally with Swedish identity documents and driving licence.

The Swedish Migration Agency confirmed he was granted permanent residency in 2013 and said he subsequently sought Swedish citizenship in 2017 and 2018. In both instances he was denied, and he applied again in August last year, though was rejected.

He decided to travel to France after the latest rejection.

He had also sought asylum in Switzerland and Italy. The French application was rejected last Sunday as he already had refugee status in Sweden, officials said.

Security sources and his Swedish ex-wife told AFP he was recently divorced. The prosecutor in Annecy Ms Bonnet-Mathis said he has a child around the same age as the toddlers he attacked.

Reportedly originally from the Syrian town of Al Hasake, Mr Hanoun had been training alongside his ex-wife to become a nurse, according to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

The paper added he was convicted for illegally claiming benefits in Sweden and was handed a suspended sentence and a fine.

Mr Hanoun reportedly separated from his ex-wife eight months ago and they had not spoken in four months.

The woman identifying herself as his ex-wife told French broadcaster BFM TV he had not previously demonstrated violent tendencies.

“He does not call me for four months. [Our relationship] stopped because we lived in Sweden and he did not want to live in Sweden any more,” she said.

She added that her former partner was a Christian.

Speaking to The National, Sofia Koller, senior research analyst at the Counter Extremism Project, said: “The motivation is not clear yet.

“Some media and parts of the public are quick to judge when they see it was a foreign-looking man with a knife, and assume it was a terror attack.”

There are continuing debates and discussions in France and Europe on asylum seekers and immigration, Ms Koller said, speaking from Germany.

“So I think this attack really comes at the worst timing because the debate is quite present at the moment. So this attack might have an even higher impact on French society,” she said.

Early morning tranquillity shattered by screams

Le Paquiet park in Annecy is a usually tranquil place, popular with tourists and locals.

But on Thursday morning, as parents took their children to the playground, local schoolchildren enjoyed a trip out and joggers exercised, screams rang out as the man, armed with a knife, began his vicious attack.

Video shared online shows how the attack played out.

In the horrific scenes, the man first circled the playground, slashing at a bystander, and then clambered over its barriers to attack those inside.

He appeared to focus on children, repeatedly stabbing one in a pushchair, even returning a second time.

The man appeared to shout “in the name of Jesus Christ” as he waved his knife in the air, while people near by could be heard screaming for the police.

The man, dressed in shorts with a scarf wrapped around his head, was challenged by one bystander who used a rucksack for protection. The suspect left the playground, pursued by the witness before police arrived and shot him.

A witness who spoke to broadcaster BFM TV said he saw first responders working on “little bodies, three or four years old, perhaps”.

George, the owner of a nearby restaurant, told TV: “Mothers were crying, everybody was running.”

An ice cream seller who works in the waterside park said he had seen the attacker there several days previously, looking out at the lake ringed by mountains.

“It's a place where babysitters and parents take young children to play. I often see around 15 toddlers there in the morning, and the atmosphere is fantastic,” he said.

Former Liverpool FC footballer Anthony Le Tallec witnessed part of the attack, describing the scene in a story on Instagram.

He said he was running by the lake and saw people rushing towards him telling him to flee because there was a man attacking children with a knife.

Le Tallec said the suspect then appeared in front of him, tailed by police officers.

“He came near me, so I moved, I moved away,” he said.

“I see him go towards a grandma and a grandpa, and he attacked the grandpa.

“I said to the cops, 'Shoot him! Kill him!' He attacked once, twice and then they started to shoot him.”

Le Tallec said he continued his run along the lake and spotted the children who were injured in the attack.

“It’s unfortunate but it’s crazy to have this in Annecy,” he said.

France has been shocked by several violent incidents over the past few months, including the fatal stabbing last month of a nurse in the northern town of Reims. Also last month, a drink-driver accidentally killed three policemen.

Mr Macron has denounced what he calls a “de-civilisation process” in the country, while opposition members of parliament say his government has been too lax on law and order.