Following the late night attack, the leader of National Front (FN), Marine Le Pen took to Twitter to address the government’s efforts in dealing with terrorists, suggesting their endeavors are insufficient.
“The French people will no longer be satisfied with words, they wait for actions,” she tweeted.
In her next tweet, Le Pen highlighted that France was waiting for “important information,” as regards to through which Islamist terrorist network the assailant and his family members entered the country.
TWEET: “We are now waiting for important information. Through which network did this Islamist terrorist and his family walk into our territory?”
The National Front leader later clarified that the attacker appeared to have been flagged by an “S” file, which indicates that the individual is considered to be a real threat to national security by law enforcement, although the security services failed to avert the stabbing attack.
TWEET: “We have once again learnt that the terrorist was flagged by an ‘S’ file. What is the point of using the ‘S’ file if we cannot put these time bombs out of harm’s way on French soil?”
TWEET: “And what is the use of the Ministry of Interior, which stammers after every terrorist attack about distressing emptiness?”
Le Pen’s views were backed by the leader of The Republicans, Laurent Wauquiez, who also turned to social media networks and expressed his condolences to the victims of the attacks and their families.
“Once again, Islamist barbarism is shedding blood in our country. In the war on terror, words are not enough, we need action,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, another right-wing politician, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, addressed President Emmanuel Macron directly:
“Terrorist attacks are unpredictable but we cannot accept the state’s inaction. Where is the ‘task force’ of Mr. Macron? Where is the anti-terrorism law?” he wrote in his address, posted on Twitter.
According to Dupont-Aignan, “the anti-terrorism law is insufficient, it is essential to reinstate the state of emergency and take specific measures.”
He also supported Marine Le Pen’s stance on the “S” file:
TWEET: “Once again, it’s a man flagged by ‘S’ file who murders on our territory. What is the card for if it is not being used?”
One person was killed and several more were injured as a result of a stabbing attack in Paris on May 12 – the assailant, Khamzat Azimov, who was born in Russia’s Chechnya but became a French citizen in 2010, was shot dead by police. Europe 1 reported that the attacker was known to the French special services as a terrorist supporter and was flagged by an “S” file. Daesh has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.
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France has been through a series of devastating Islamist attacks, including the Charlie Hebdo massacre, the November 2015 attacks in Paris, and the 2016 Bastille Day in Nice. Following the 2015 Paris attacks, Francois Hollande’s government introduced a state of emergency, which was lifted in October 2017 when the sitting president’s government passed a new law extending the powers of the security services.