New Delhi: The French Police on Monday launched series of raids on Islamist networks in the country after beheading of history teacher who had shown cartoon of prophet mohammed to his pupils.
The President of France – Emmanuel Macron condemned murder of teacher on Sunday and said “Fear is about to change sides,”
On Monday, Macron met members of teacher’s family as part of preparations for a ceremony in the teacher’s honour at the Sorbonne University on Wednesday.
On beheading of teacher Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin vowed there would be “not a minute’s respite for enemies of the Republic”, after tens of thousands took part in rallies countrywide on Sunday to honour teacher Samuel Paty and defend freedom of expression.
Darmanin said the government would also tighten its grip on NGOs with suspected links to Islamist networks, including the Anti-Islamophobia Collective, a group that claims to monitor attacks against Muslims in France.
According to sources there had been a total of 40 raids across France on Monday, mostly around Paris, and 20 per day were planned going forward.
Sources said that fifteen people were in custody on Monday and four among them may have helped the killer identify the teacher in return for payment.
History teacher was attacked on his way home from the junior high school where he taught in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Paris.
A photo of the teacher and a message confessing to his murder was found on the mobile phone of his killer, 18-year-old Chechen Abdullakh Anzorov, who was shot dead by police.
The killing has drawn parallels with the 2015 massacre at Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, where 12 people, including cartoonists, were gunned down for publishing cartoons of Mohammed.
_Vinayak.Barot