The mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard (Les Républicains), denounced, Thursday October 19, a “fairly grotesque media and political excitement with many sensational interpretations” after the arrest of a man who threatened a trader with a knife. “An attack is unfortunately possible here, but not everything is an attack,” insisted Mr. Lisnard, president of the Association of Mayors of France, in a message on Facebook.
On Wednesday, around 7 p.m., a man who had rolled out a prayer rug in the grounds of a technical inspection establishment attacked the garage manager, who asked him to leave, the Grasse prosecutor’s office explained to ‘France Media Agency. According to the statements of the manager of the garage, who later retreated into an office and called the police, “the man took out a pocket knife while shouting Allahou Akbar”, specified the public prosecutor of Grasse, Damien Savarzeix. The man, who appears to be homeless, was arrested and placed in police custody for “apology of terrorism and violence with weapons”, added the prosecutor.
Around 8:30 p.m., the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced on who wanted to attack an individual. Thanks to them: they avoided the worst. » Seen by many Internet users, the minister’s publication was widely commented on or shared. It was also featured in several media.
Later in the evening, David Lisnard provided details on the facts by commenting on the minister’s publication on an altercation (…) without an exchange of blows. »
A police source had also initially announced that the events had taken place “in front” of a synagogue. “The site is 20 m from the train station, 50 m from the high school, 100 m from the police station, 200 m from the synagogue. The link with the synagogue is at this stage an extrapolation,” the mayor of Cannes said in the same Facebook post on Thursday.