The political class French rose up this Friday August 12, 2022 after the aggression of the writer Salman Rushdiestabbed in the neck as he prepared to give a lecture in New York State.
The state of health of the British author, whose book The Satanic Verses made him the target of a fatwa of the Iranian Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini in 1989, is for the moment ” not known “, announced the American police. The identity of the assailant is also not yet known.
Salman Rushdie was preparing to give a lecture in an amphitheater in Chautauqua, in upstate New York, near Lake Erie, which separates the United States from Canada.
“The very expression of freedom”
The president of the Renaissance group in the Assembly Aurore Bergé described in a tweet Rushdie as “the very expression of freedom, it is its face, voice, interpreter” despite “the incessant threats”.
Rennaissance MEP Nathalie Loiseau sent her “full support” at “the permanent target of intolerance, talented and courageous defender of freedom of opinion”.
“It is a symbol of resistance against Islamist totalitarianism that has been attacked,” reacted on Twitter the president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella. “This attack proves that the Islamists will never disarm”added the mayor of Perpignan Louis Aliot, candidate for the head of the National Rally.
Rushdie “stabbed by hate”
“The religious fanatics who issued a fatwa against him undoubtedly bear the responsibility”vilified the deputy Insoumis Alexis Corbière. “Stabbed by Islamist hatred”castigated the communist leader Fabien Roussel.
Boris Vallaud, leader of the socialist deputies condemned an attack “serious and intolerable”. “It is freedom that is under attack”castigated the president of the environmental group in the Assembly Julien Bayou, speaking of a « ignoble fatwa ».
For former right-wing presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse, Salman Rushdie “embodies freedom of expression in the face of Islamist totalitarians”.
–
