An Islamist knife attack committed by a suspect of Algerian nationality, suffering from psychiatric disorders and living in France despite an obligation to leave French territory due to Algiers' refusal to issue him a consular pass. The act of terrorism perpetrated on Saturday afternoon, February 22 in Mulhouse, eastern France, which left one person dead and injured five municipal police officers, is a concentration of all the issues that preoccupy Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau: Islamist terrorism, immigration and tense relations with Algeria.

According to eyewitness accounts, the 37-year-old alleged assailant shouted "Allahou akbar" ("God is the greatest," in Arabic) several times during the attack, which took place in front of the city's covered market, located in a popular district that is usually very busy on Saturdays. The victim was a 69-year-old Portuguese man who had intervened. At least five municipal police officers, who also intervened to stop the assailant, suffered stab wounds. One was wounded "in the carotid artery" and the other "in the chest," according to Mulhouse public prosecutor Nicolas Heitz. The other three suffered minor injuries.

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