The racist assassination of Hichem Miraoui, a Tunisian citizen shot in the Var on May 31, 2025, provokes great emotion in Tunisia as in France. While the French anti -terrorist prosecution seized the case, the authorities of the two countries condemn a hateful act qualified as a terrorist, and call for justice and the protection of communities.
The assassination of Hichem Miraoui, a Tunisian national killed by bullets on Saturday May 31 in Puget-sur-Argens, in the department of Var (France), aroused great emotion in Tunisia as in France. The act, described as a racist and premeditated, was quickly taken care of by the French National Prosecutor’s Office, which opened an investigation for assassination and attempted assassination in relation to a terrorist enterprise, motivated by race or religion.
According to concordant sources and the French media, the alleged author of the crime, a 53 -year -old French man, shot his Tunisian neighbor, killing him, and also injured another man, of Turkish nationality. He was arrested shortly after the facts and placed in detention. Videos of a xenophobic and terrorist character as well as firearms were found in his possession, strengthening the qualification of crime with ideological motivation.
Faced with this drama, diplomacy of the two countries has been strongly mobilized. The French ambassador to Tunisia, Anne Guéguen, expressed her “deep sadness” and presented her condolences to the family of the victim, to her relatives, to the Tunisian community in France, as well as to the Tunisian authorities. She denounced “a racist and premeditated crime which strikes us all deep in our humanity”, reaffirming France’s commitment to fight against all forms of hatred, racism and violence.
For his part, the French Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, personally presented his condolences to the Tunisia ambassador to Paris, Dhia Khaled, then to her Tunisian counterpart Khaled Nouri, during a telephone interview. He condemned an “odious, racist and terrorist act”, ensuring that the French judicial authorities “will not hesitate to inflict the most severe penalties” to the alleged author, whose actions cannot represent neither French society nor the values of the Republic.
The Tunisian ambassador to Paris, for his part, stressed the importance of a rapid and rigorous judicial education, for justice to be done to the victim and his beneficiaries. He also insisted on the need to protect the Tunisian community residing in France, calling for concrete measures to prevent such crimes in the future.
The Tunisian Minister of the Interior, Khaled Nouri, expressed his “lively indignation” and the “deep sadness” of the Tunisian people in the face of this drama, urging the French authorities to guarantee a safe and respectful environment for Tunisians in France.
An expected judicial response
The preliminary investigation opened by the French anti -terrorist prosecution marks an account of the ideological and hateful character of this assassination, in a context of increased vigilance against racist violence in Europe. The first elements of the investigation confirm a racial and xenophobic motivation, reinforced by the digital behavior of the suspect and its armament.
