France teacher attack: Police raid homes of suspected Islamic radicals

French police have raided the homes of dozens of suspected Islamic radicals following the beheading of a teacher who showed controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils.

Some of those being questioned are believed to have posted messages of support for the killer of Samuel Paty.

The government also said it was probing 51 French Muslim associations.

Mr Paty’s suspected killer was shot dead by police on Friday after the attack close to the teacher’s school.

Mr Paty’s school is located in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a north-western suburb of Paris.

On Monday, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said the operations sent a message that there was “no respite for enemies of the republic”, and that they were expected to continue all week.

He said that not all individuals targeted in the operations were necessarily linked to the investigations into Mr Paty’s death.

Meanwhile, police will interview about 80 people who are believed to have posted messages in support of Mr Paty’s killer, Mr Darmanin added.

The government said if Muslim organisations under investigation were found to promote hatred, they would be closed down.

The associations include the Collective Against Islamophobia which the government believes propagate a permanent message of defiance to the French state.

On its website, the collective describes itself as a “human rights organisation whose mission is to combat Islamophobia” that partners with the United Nations among other institutions.

Mr Paty was murdered in the Paris suburb Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. The suspect, an 18-year-old born in Moscow of Chechen origin, had no known connection to Mr Paty or the school.

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