French police launched an investigation on Tuesday, September 9, after pig heads were found outside several mosques in the Paris region, the city's police chief said. "Every effort is being made to find the perpetrators of these despicable acts," Laurent Nuñez wrote on X.
The heads were discovered on public roads in Paris and three nearby suburbs, according to local authorities. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau condemned the acts, calling them "outrageous" and "absolutely unacceptable." "I want our Muslim compatriots to be able to practice their faith in peace," he said.
Chems-Eddine Hafiz, the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, denounced the "Islamaphobic acts" as "a new and sad stage in the rise of anti-Muslim hatred," calling for "awareness and national solidarity against this dangerous trajectory."
France is home to the largest Muslim community in the European Union, as well as the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States. Several EU nations have reported a spike in "anti-Muslim hatred" and "anti-Semitism" since the Gaza war started in October 2023, according to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.