Machete-wielding man shot outside Louvre Museum in Paris

[MenInG]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/paris-louvre-soldier-shooting-1.3965025

A French soldier shot and wounded a man armed with a machete and carrying two bags on his back on Friday morning as he tried to enter the Louvre Museum in Paris in what police said looked like a terrorist attack.

The man attacked another soldier before being shot near the museum's shopping mall, police said, adding a second person had also been detained after acting suspiciously.

The attacker was alive but seriously wounded, the head of Paris police Michel Cadot told reporters at the scene, adding the bags he had been carrying contained no explosives.

"The soldier fired five bullets," Cadot said, describing how the man hurried threateningly towards the soldiers.

"It was an attack by a person... who represented a direct threat and whose actions suggested a terrorist context."

A spokesman for the military force that patrols key sites in Paris said the suspect attacked the four-man patrol of soldiers at the Louvre after he was refused entry — because of the bags he was carrying — to a shopping complex under the museum. Some 3,500 soldiers patrol key sites as part of beefed-up security measures in Paris.

By 12:30 p.m. local time, police had lifted roadblocks in the area. Staff members returned to the shopping mall and tourists streamed out of the museum.

Hundreds of tourists had remained inside during the incident, and some were brought into special safe rooms, according to a witness.

An anti-terrorism inquiry has been opened, the public prosecutor said in a statement.

The identity and nationality of the attacker remains unknown for now, French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told reporters.

France has been hit by a series of attacks over the past two years that have killed more than 230 people.

FRANCE-SHOOTING/
French police secure the site near the Louvre Pyramid on Friday. (Christian Hartmann/Reuters)

The country is less than three months away from a presidential election in which security and fears of terrorism are among the key issues. It has been living under a state of emergency since November 2015.

The most recent deadly attack took place in the southern city of Nice when a man drove a truck into a crowd on the seafront killing 86.

In September, in an attempted attack, a group of women parked a car containing gas canisters near Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral.

CBC IN FRANCE | 'Everyone is afraid of it': France's massive ID database seen as threat to personal freedom
Police cordoned off and evacuated the area around the museum on Friday. Louvre officials closed the museum and kept visitors inside from leaving.

Soldiers on patrol near the museum are part of security measures that have beefed-up in the wake of terror attacks in France in 2015 and 2016.

 

[Abdullah719]

Louvre attack: Egyptian man, 29, believed to be assailant

French authorities say they believe the man who tried to attack the Louvre museum in the capital Paris on Friday was an Egyptian national aged 29.

Prosecutor Francois Molins said he is thought to have travelled to Paris from Dubai on a tourist visa last month.

Police are trying to establish if the man acted alone or under instructions, he added.

The machete-wielding attacker was critically injured after he was shot by French soldiers in a bid to stop him.

One of the soldiers received minor injuries when the man tried to enter the museum.

At the time of the incident, hundreds of visitors were inside the Louvre, which is home to numerous celebrated art works, including the Mona Lisa.

President Francois Hollande praised the soldiers' actions, saying "this operation prevented an attack whose terrorist nature leaves little doubt".

He told reporters at an EU summit in Malta on Friday that he expected the suspect to be questioned "when it is possible to do so".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38863431

 

[troodon]

Escape from hell, go to a western nation and attack the civilians there.

Such imbeciles.

With News like these, the banning of some Muslim countries by Trumpanzee is looking like a Master Stroke.

 

[shaykh]

Escape from hell, go to a western nation and attack the civilians there.

Such imbeciles.

With News like these, the banning of some Muslim countries by Trumpanzee is looking like a Master Stroke.

Well if one notices all instances of foreign Islamist terrorism have actually been committed by nationals from countries that haven't been banned...

 

[Pure Evil]

Surprisingly this thread doesn't have many replies. Unfortunately now if Le Pen wins, I won't be surprised over the pages of outrage

 

[classic]

Setting up nicely for Le Pen ...God help us all..

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Setting up nicely for Le Pen ...God help us all..

The 2 round voting system that France has should keep her out. She may well win the first round however when it comes to round 2, where the top 2 candidates proceed, all the losers from round 1 will rally behind the candidate who is facing Le Pen.

For example (from today's UK Telegraph):

 

[Pure Evil]

Well we hope she loses or it's a lot of economic turmoil. However I am worried about Fillons ratings and it is likely at this rate it is Macron vs Marine

 

[The_KING]

Can you really blame Trump for banning immigration from Muslim countries? I know many Muslims won't like to hear this but I'm going to say it anyway. There are way too many nutters like this guy prevalent within the Muslim community. There is a problem of terrorism and extremism in the Muslim community and I think us Muslims should accept it.

 

[The Paradox]

Can you really blame Trump for banning immigration from Muslim countries? I know many Muslims won't like to hear this but I'm going to say it anyway. There are way too many nutters like this guy prevalent within the Muslim community. There is a problem of terrorism and extremism in the Muslim community and I think us Muslims should accept it.

I do wholeheartedly agree.

I hope the United Kingdom do the same. Oh, just saw you live in London.

 

[GenericBrand]

I do wholeheartedly agree.

I hope the United Kingdom do the same. Oh, just saw you live in London.

Yeh too bad UK didn't do the same before him and his family immigrated.

 

[The_KING]

I do wholeheartedly agree.

I hope the United Kingdom do the same. Oh, just saw you live in London.

Expected response.

 

[The Paradox]

Expected response.

A flawed argument(if that can be called one) gets a response like this.

Go on and try again and perhaps without condemning 1.5 billion people and painting them with the same brush.

You can talk about the challenges with extremism without being stupid about it and sounding like a 10 year old kid.

 

[The_KING]

A flawed argument(if that can be called one) gets a response like this.

Go on and try again and perhaps without condemning 1.5 billion people and painting them with the same brush.

You can talk about the challenges with extremism without being stupid about it and sounding like a 10 year old kid.

I've always been against mass immigration tbh. Immigration shouldn't be banned but it should be significantly reduced. I'm sick of so many people coming into the west and still not letting go of their old culture.

And secondly I didn't call every single Muslim a terrorist. I know that like 95% Muslims are fine people but there is a still a problem of terrorism within the Muslim community and that's an unfortunate fact that I as a Muslim have come to accept. It's time every other Muslims accepts that unfortunate fact too.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

French investigators believe the man who launched a machete attack in Paris, before being shot and wounded by a soldier, is a 29-year-old Egyptian man who entered the country on a tourist visa.

Francois Molins, the chief prosecutor of Paris, told a press conference on Friday that the man, who carried out the attack near the entrance of the Louvre museum, had no identity papers on him when he was arrested.

However, mobile phone data suggested he had arrived in Paris on January 26 after acquiring a one-month tourist visa from the French embassy in Dubai.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.al...e-attacker-170204050046094.html?client=safari

 

[Abdullah719]

Alleged Louvre attacker's father says son is not a terrorist

MANSOURA, Egypt (AP) — The father of an Egyptian man accused of attacking French soldiers guarding Paris' Louvre museum says he trusts the French judiciary to find out the truth behind his son's alleged involvement.

Reda Refaie al-Hamahmy tells The Associated Press late Saturday that his 28-year-old son Abdullah is not a terrorist and that he leads a normal life with his wife and infant son.

Speaking at the family home in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, north of Cairo, the father said "if he is convicted, God be with us. But if he is innocent, they owe us an apology."

The Paris prosecutor's office says the attacker was shot four times Friday after injuring a soldier patrolling an underground mall near the famous museum but his injuries are no longer life-threatening.

https://apnews.com/216f1c6f2f9543f1...attacker's-father-says-son-is-not-a-terrorist

 

[Markhor]

Escape from hell, go to a western nation and attack the civilians there.

Such imbeciles.

With News like these, the banning of some Muslim countries by Trumpanzee is looking like a Master Stroke.

The attack is Egyptian and travelled to Paris from Dubai on a tourist visa last month. He wasn't a refugee. Are you going to stop issuing all tourists visas ?

Can you really blame Trump for banning immigration from Muslim countries? I know many Muslims won't like to hear this but I'm going to say it anyway. There are way too many nutters like this guy prevalent within the Muslim community. There is a problem of terrorism and extremism in the Muslim community and I think us Muslims should accept it.

Terrorism by Muslims makes up 0.3% percent of all murders in the US.

By contrast, roughly 11,000 Americans were killed in gun homicides last year - yet you don't hear the Trump or the Reich-wing bots ever call for a registry of gun owners. Should we ban American immigration into Europe in the name of security ? Of course not.

The rest of the post I agree with.

 

[enkidu_]

What I find interesting is how the "moral capital" changes such situation : a single individual with a machete is doing a "terrorist attack" (when it can theoretically be a "fait divers" as we say in French, "trivial" petty criminality which can happen for a host of reasons, and no reason) while the US worldwide war machine, which last year has launched a bomb every 8 minute on Syria, is not "terrorist" because of the "motives".

 

[Pure Evil]

The attack is Egyptian and travelled to Paris from Dubai on a tourist visa last month. He wasn't a refugee. Are you going to stop issuing all tourists visas ?

Terrorism by Muslims makes up 0.3% percent of all murders in the US.

By contrast, roughly 11,000 Americans were killed in gun homicides last year - yet you don't hear the Trump or the Reich-wing bots ever call for a registry of gun owners. Should we ban American immigration into Europe in the name of security ? Of course not.

The rest of the post I agree with.

Thats their country and their way of life. Their society sees possessing a gun an integral part of their civilian life something similar to the FATA provinces in Pakistan. People driving planes into skyscrapers is not something they signed up for. With the drone programs, USA killed a lot of civilians in FATA. I did not see you justifying the drone programs stating more civilians were being killed in terrorist bomb attacks.

What I find reprehensible is that educated people like you refuse to acknowledge that most people are frustrated with the "few misguided youth" which gets thrown around every time. From outside it seems there is very little being done on the ground, to educate youth that terrorism is just not an option.

 

[Markhor]

Thats their country and their way of life. Their society sees possessing a gun an integral part of their civilian life something similar to the FATA provinces in Pakistan. People driving planes into skyscrapers is not something they signed up for. With the drone programs, USA killed a lot of civilians in FATA. I did not see you justifying the drone programs stating more civilians were being killed in terrorist bomb attacks.

What I find reprehensible is that educated people like you refuse to acknowledge that most people are frustrated with the "few misguided youth" which gets thrown around every time. From outside it seems there is very little being done on the ground, to educate youth that terrorism is just not an option.

I'm not saying strip away the Second Amendment, that's a strawman you've created. But if protecting US lives is your concern - surely you'd agree with me that common sense gun safety laws should be a bigger priority given FAR more Americans are killed by homegrown mass shooters than foreign-born terrorists every year ?

Look, is extremism a problem ? Yes, but let's keep the proportion of the threat in perspective instead of buying into media sensationalism. Americans are statistically more likely to die being struck by lightning or drowning in a bathtub than in attacks by foreign-born terrorists on US soil.

As for your last point, there is work being done to counter radicalisation in Muslim communities but it doesn't get publicised. Nor is it possible to stop every crazed individual out there committing violence in the name of an ideology, be it Islamist fundamentalism or far-right nationalism which is also on the rise and something the Trump Administration wants to ignore as part of its CVE initiative.

 

[Pure Evil]

I'm not saying strip away the Second Amendment, that's a strawman you've created. But if protecting US lives is your concern - surely you'd agree with me that common sense gun safety laws should be a bigger priority given FAR more Americans are killed by homegrown mass shooters than foreign-born terrorists every year ?

Look, is extremism a problem ? Yes, but let's keep the proportion of the threat in perspective instead of buying into media sensationalism. Americans are statistically more likely to die being struck by lightning or drowning in a bathtub than in attacks by foreign-born terrorists on US soil.

Really? You brought in the stats on gun-violence. Now you are talking about lightning or drowning. You are the one coming up with reasons why terrorists incidents can be ignored considering they dont really happen on US soil. Not surprising tbh, you wont talk about the German and French attacks, and why people in the States could be paranoid about the attacks being repeated there.

As for your last point, there is work being done to counter radicalisation in Muslim communities but it doesn't get publicised. Nor is it possible to stop every crazed individual out there committing violence in the name of an ideology, be it Islamist fundamentalism or far-right nationalism which is also on the rise and something the Trump Administration wants to ignore as part of its CVE initiative.

Yeah lets bring in far-right nationalism. Across the globe we dont really see Americans carrying out suicide missions for their motherland. Was the Louvre attacker a far-right nationalist? Its disingenious to talk about nationalist groups in the same tone as the Islamist ones. Radical Islamic extremism has provided the fuel, created a fear psychosis which these groups are tapping into.

What really triggers people is that most attackers are second generation immigrants. These people will launch a murderous attack on the people they have lived with all their lives for their co-religionist in far-off Syria. You probably see nothing wrong in that, but for the rest it raises questions. Do they want their children with the same terrorism issues that they are dealing with now? Probably not. And therein lies the answer to the rise of the far right.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Does no one ever ask the question how is ISIS such a feared organisation around the world when this sort of desperate loony attack with a machete is the best they can come up with?

If you were a Hollywood producer you couldn't exactly make a Die Hard franchise out of it could you?

 

[Markhor]

Really? You brought in the stats on gun-violence. Now you are talking about lightning or drowning. You are the one coming up with reasons why terrorists incidents can be ignored considering they dont really happen on US soil. Not surprising tbh, you wont talk about the German and French attacks, and why people in the States could be paranoid about the attacks being repeated there.

These aren't reasons to ignore terrorism but facts to keep the threat in perspective. Go look at the numbers yourself if you don't believe me. Americans are 3,000 more times more likely to die at the hands of their own countrymen wielding a firearm than by a foreign-born jihadi. From 2005 to 2015, over 300,000 Americans were killed by guns; 94 were killed by jihadists. EVEN if you include 9/11 that number doesn't come close to the number of gun homicide victims. Surely even you can see what constitutes a bigger risk to the lives of US citizens.

And how many Americans have been killed by jihadis posing as refugees from the countries on Trump's ban list ? ZERO. So Trump's policy is wholly illogical and will make counter-terror cooperation with Muslim communities harder, a view shared by the majority of CIA officials and terrorism experts unless you think you've more expertise in this subject than them.

Yeah lets bring in far-right nationalism. Across the globe we dont really see Americans carrying out suicide missions for their motherland. Was the Louvre attacker a far-right nationalist? Its disingenious to talk about nationalist groups in the same tone as the Islamist ones. Radical Islamic extremism has provided the fuel, created a fear psychosis which these groups are tapping into.

What really triggers people is that most attackers are second generation immigrants. These people will launch a murderous attack on the people they have lived with all their lives for their co-religionist in far-off Syria. You probably see nothing wrong in that, but for the rest it raises questions. Do they want their children with the same terrorism issues that they are dealing with now? Probably not. And therein lies the answer to the rise of the far right.

Firstly I don't condone terrorism so don't post such nonsense. Muslims around the world have suffered more due to terrorism than any other group so Muslims don't need lectures in counter-terrorism from Trump supporters like you. Secondly, I mention the far-right because if you want to tackle terrorism in the name of political ideology - why stop at Islamist groups ? Have you already forgotten about Quebec ? Or Dylann Roof ? Eddie Mair ? Anders Breivik ? A 2015 report from the New America Foundation found that of the 28 deadly homegrown terror attacks since 9/11 in the US, 18 were incidents inspired by right-wing extremism, while 10 were inspired by Islamic extremism.

As for the solutions, we must live in the real world and adopt realistic solutions, not introduce illogical policies (like the travel ban) that'll inflame extremism. If you look at recent acts of terror in France, Belgium and Germany - they've mostly been committed not by refugees but by Muslims of North African descent. In the communities where they live, there is high unemployment, ghettoisation and discrimination that results in alienation. This alienation is channeled into destructive violence as the influence of Wahabism has increased due to Saudi money. Socio economic reform is needed. Also I'd personally take a cue from Austria and ban foreign funding of mosques.

Then you must address social media propaganda. Finally, work with Muslim communities instead of viewing them as a Fifth Column and support the groups that are fighting ISIS and al-Qaeda in the Middle East. As ISIS keep losing ground, the flow of foreign recruits will decrease as nobody wants to join a losing army. As for the refugee issue, ensure tight vetting procedures and emphasise cultural integration.

 

[The_KING]

Terrorism by Muslims makes up 0.3% percent of all murders in the US.

By contrast, roughly 11,000 Americans were killed in gun homicides last year - yet you don't hear the Trump or the Reich-wing bots ever call for a registry of gun owners. Should we ban American immigration into Europe in the name of security ? Of course not.

The rest of the post I agree with.

I agree with your post. I'm of the opinion that immigration should be significantly reduced. I'm against mass immigration.

 

[Ball Blazer]

Two arrested over theft of jewels at Louvre museum in Paris

Two suspects have been arrested over the theft of precious crown jewels from Paris's Louvre museum, French media say.

The Paris prosecutor's office said one of the men had been taken into custody as he was preparing to take a flight from Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Items worth €88m (£76m; $102m) were taken from the world's most-visited museum last Sunday, when four thieves wielding power tools broke into the building in broad daylight.

France's justice minister has conceded security protocols "failed", leaving the country with a "terrible image".

The Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement that the arrests had been made on Saturday evening, without specifying how many people had been taken into custody.

One of the suspects was preparing to travel to Algeria, police sources have told French media, while it's understood the other was going to Mali.

Specialist police can question them for up to 96 hours.

The Paris prosecutor criticised the "premature disclosure" of information related to the case, adding that it hindered efforts to recover the jewels and find the thieves.

The thieves reportedly arrived at 09:30 (08:30 GMT), shortly after the museum opened to visitors.

The suspects arrived with a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to gain access to the Galerie d'Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) via a balcony close to the River Seine.

Pictures from the scene showed the ladder leading up to a first-floor window.

Two of the thieves entered by cutting through the window with power tools.

Louvre heist: Suspects arrested over theft of jewels, prosecutor says

Four thieves broke into the world's most-visited museum in broad daylight, stealing eight items worth €88m (£76m; $102m).

www.bbc.com

 

[BouncerGuy]

Two suspects partially admit involvement in Louvre heist, prosecutor says

Two men arrested in connection with the Louvre theft two weeks ago have "partially recognised" their involvement in the brazen heist, according to officials.

The pair in custody are suspected of being the two who used power tools to enter the museum's Apollon gallery and steal some of the French crown jewels.

Items worth €88m (£76m; $102m) were taken from the world's most-visited museum on 19 October, when four thieves broke into the building in broad daylight.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that the jewels had not been recovered yet, and the gang involved could be bigger than the four people caught on CCTV.

The two men, both in their thirties, have criminal records and were identified by DNA found during investigations, Beccuau said.

One of the men was arrested as he tried to board a one-way flight to Algeria, but Beccuau said the other man had not been planning to leave France, despite earlier media reports.

There was no evidence currently to suggest the theft was an inside job confirming no accomplices worked at the museum, she added.

But Beccuau said she was not ruling out the possibility that this involved more than the four suspects caught on CCTV, including the people expecting to receive the stolen jewels.

"I want to remain hopeful that [the jewels] will be found and they can be brought back to the Louvre, and more broadly to the nation", she said.

A crown that once belonged to Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, was dropped by the thieves as they fled. Damage to the crown is still being assessed, Beccuau added.

On Sunday when the arrests were made, the prosecutor criticised the "premature disclosure" of information related to the case, adding that it hindered efforts to recover the jewels and find the thieves.

On the day of the heist, the robbers arrived at 09:30 (08:30 GMT), just after the museum opened to visitors, Beccuau said at Wednesday's conference.

The suspects arrived with a stolen vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to gain access to the Galerie d'Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) via a balcony close to the River Seine. The men used a disc cutter to crack open display cases housing the jewellery.

She said the thieves were inside for four minutes and made their escape on two scooters waiting outside at 09:38, before switching to cars and heading east.

Nobody had been threatened during the raid, she told reporters.

Since the incident, security measures have been tightened around France's cultural institutions.

The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France following the heist. They will now be stored in the Bank's most secure vault, 26m (85ft) below the ground floor of its elegant headquarters in central Paris.

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Two more charged over Louvre jewellery heist

Two more people have been charged over a theft at the Louvre Museum last month, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

A 38-year-old woman has been charged with complicity in organised theft and criminal conspiracy with a view to committing a crime. Separately, a man, aged 37, was charged with theft and criminal conspiracy. Both denied any involvement.

Two men who had previously been arrested were already charged with theft and criminal conspiracy after officials said they had "partially recognised" their involvement in the heist.

Jewels worth €88m (£76m; $102m) were taken from the world's most-visited museum on 19 October.

Four men carried out the lightning-quick daylight theft.

Two of the alleged thieves - who had been arrested earlier - later admitted their involvement.

The French public is relieved to see quick progress in the investigation - but many see the whole episode as a humiliating embarrassment for the country.

A tiara worn by the Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, was taken

On Saturday, the woman who has been charged was in tears as she appeared before a magistrate and confirmed that she lived in Paris's northern suburb of La Courneuve, a journalist working for the AFP news agency reported.

The magistrate later ruled that the woman - who has not been named - must stay in custody.

The 37-year-old man - whose identity has also not been revealed - was also ordered to stay in pre-trial detention. He is known to the French justice system for past robberies.

In the French judicial system, a suspect "placed under investigation" will normally - but not necessarily - end up facing trial. An examining magistrate is designated to lead the "investigation" into the person, looking in theory at material that might exculpate as well as incriminate.

In the meantime, the suspect can remain in detention if a judge believes he or she is a potential danger to the public, or might abscond, or might collude with others to arrange evidence.

This last argument was used to justify the continued detention of the 38-year-old woman.

The alleged role of the second suspect - the 37-year-old man - is not clear. But when the five were detained on Wednesday, the prosecutor's office said that one of them was linked by DNA to the crime scene.

Probably therefore he is suspected of being one of the two men who stayed on the street during the heist.

The fourth involved at the scene has not yet been caught.

Three other people held earlier this week have been released without charge.

On the day of the heist, the robbers arrived at 09:30 (07:30 GMT), just after the museum opened to visitors, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said last week.

The suspects arrived with a stolen vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to gain access to the Galerie d'Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) via a balcony close to the River Seine. The men used a disc cutter to crack open display cases housing the jewellery.

Prosecutors said the thieves were inside for four minutes and made their escape on two scooters waiting outside at 09:38, before switching to cars.

One of the stolen items - a crown - was dropped during the escape. The other seven jewels have not been found.

The fear is that they have already been spirited abroad, though the prosecutor in charge of the case has said she is still hopeful they can be retrieved intact.

Preliminary results of an enquiry into the robbery were released by Culture Minister Rachida Dati on Friday.

She said that for years museum authorities had "gravely underestimated the risks of intrusion and theft", promising that new measures would be in place by the end of the year.

Shortly after the theft it was revealed by the Louvre's director that the only camera monitoring the Galerie d'Apollon was pointing away from a balcony the thieves climbed over to break in.

The president of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, has since admitted the museum had failed in its responsibilities, but denied that security had been overlooked - saying that from the time she took office in 2021 she had been warning constantly of the need for more investment.

She also said the main weakness in the security arrangements for the Galerie d'Apollon was the lack of security cameras on the perimeter of the Louvre. But this, she said, was the responsibility of the city of Paris - not the Louvre itself.

However, critics have accused des Cars of being too interested in her ambitious renovation plan for the museum - dubbed the New Renaissance - which will see a new entrance as well as a separate gallery for the Mona Lisa.

They say money that should have gone for basic protection of the site has been kept in the bank to finance the new project.

Since the incident, security measures have been tightened around France's cultural institutions.

The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France following the heist.

BBC