News - Mosque is shot at in France

Unidentified persons have shot at the mosque in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (Manche), France, on the eve of the end of the Muslim Ramadan fast, France Bleu radio station reports. On Monday evening, the police found traces of bullets on the front of this mosque, and shells of an unknown caliber nearby. Security has been beefed up around the mosque. The prefecture of the Manche Department expressed its support for the city's Muslim community, citing the "full readiness" of law enforcement to provide security ahead of the end of Ramadan. In November 2023, threats against Muslims were written with paint on the fence of the same mosque. In March, the French Ministry of the Interior reported that the number of crimes motivated by racism, xenophobia, and religious hatred increased by 32 percent in 2023 in France. And Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin had noted that in 2023, attacks on Muslims in France were 30 percent more than the previous year.