Attack in Moscow: The terrorist group had made “many attempts” to attack in France, Macron assured
This Monday from Guyana, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, was questioned about the attack that took place in Moscow on Friday, and killed at least 137 people. He said the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attack, had “made several attempts on our own soil in recent months.” The group “tried several times to touch French soil,” he repeated.
“As a precautionary measure, but with credible and concrete elements” the level of the vigilance plan was therefore raised in France, explained Emmanuel Macron. “The claim of the Moscow attack came from the Islamic State in Khorasan. However, this organization threatens France and has been involved in recent failed attack plans in several European countries, including Germany and France,” Matignon clarified on Sunday.
“We are foiling many attacks,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed this Monday morning, “Many attacks have been foiled by the Islamic State on national soil, particularly in late 2022.” He cites, for example, the arrest of people in Strasbourg “before they commit the act”.
“Support and Solidarity with the Russian People”
The French president expressed his desire to “find the criminals as quickly as possible” and called for “continuing to fight effectively against these groups that are presenting themselves in many countries”, pledging “increased cooperation” with Russia in this matter. Emmanuel Macron expressed his “support and solidarity with the Russian people” and “thoughts for all the victims, their families and all the wounded (…) We know how deeply this hurts the country. »
He also underlined the need to “guard against any manipulation or distortion”. In the midst of a war with Ukraine, the Kremlin has in fact raised the possibility that Kiev may have been involved in the attack, despite claims by the Islamic State.
“It would be both cynical and counterproductive for Russia and for the security of its citizens to use this context to try to turn it against Ukraine,” Emmanuel Macron asserted to the press. According to him, French intelligence services believe that it was actually the Afghan branch of the Islamic State group in Khorasan (EI-K) that “planned and carried out this attack”.
Fisheries, Agriculture and Security
For a two-day visit to Guyana, Emmanuel Macron will have to respond to several domestic challenges. “I see the commitments I made, almost all of them have been kept,” he declared on his second visit as president of the foreign territory. But there remain “problems, I am fully aware of them” he underlined, “for example on security”. He praised the “effectiveness” of Operation Harpy in combating illegal gold mining in Guyana and declared that he wanted to “reinvigorate it”.
In 2023, crime, fueled by the scourge of illegal gold mining, reached record levels in Guyana with 20.6 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, nearly 15 times the national average. Thus the President’s visit comes on March 25, 2023, a year after the death of GIGN breeder, Arnaud Blanc, in a crackdown on illegal gold panning.
The President of the Republic also promised announcements about the fishing and local agricultural sectors, especially to free them from food dependence. He should visit a Cayenne fish market as well as a farm before heading to the Amazon rainforest at Camopi, bordering Brazil.
