Knife attack Annecy: you can’t kill innocent children in the name of Christ

“In the name of Jesus Christ,” the man shouted, after which he stabbed his victim with his knife. Minutes later, the man was overpowered by bystanders and authorities. Six people, including four children, were injured in and around the playground in the French alpine town of Annecy. The youngest victim was 22 months old.

The attack aroused horror worldwide but evoked terror in France in particular. Television stations started live broadcasts of the attack, and politicians reacted quickly. Not long after the attack, President Macron and Prime Minister Borne visited the affected city. It is not only the age of the victims that causes shock; France has a recent history of terror attacks, and fears of new attacks are high. Yet French authorities seem to rule out a terrorist motive for now.

Accordingly, the suspect, a Syrian refugee who previously stayed in Sweden, did not shout Islamic texts. According to various media, he cited the name of Jesus several times while striking. In addition, the man wore a cross and carried several Christian images. For the NGO L'Œuvre d’Orient, which helps Eastern Christians, a reason to make a statement condemning the attack. The organisation says it is awaiting the investigation and hopes the attack will not affect other refugees in the country.

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Liturgy

According to the Catholic newspaper La Croix, the formula "In the name of Jesus Christ" is not a typical Catholic expression. A Jesuit priest argues that the phrase is not used in Catholic liturgy in French or Arab cultures.

But then, where is this phrase in use? According to Romain Choisnet, director of communications for the National Council of Evangelicals of France (CNEF), it is especially evangelical and charismatic groups that use this phrase from the New Testament. Apart from this phrase, both in Christian circles and in Islam, invoking God in everyday things is a custom in the Arab world, La Croix writes.

On Twitter, Choisnet spoke out against the attackers’ alleged Christianity: “The example of Jesus Christ cannot in any way lead to violence; on the contrary, he was full of love, especially towards children, and went so far as to affirm in the gospel of Matthew, “the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like them”.”

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Innocent

But it is not only the attacker who evokes Christian associations. The man who stopped him also claims to be a Christian. Henri D’Anselme, a Catholic student himself, is critical of the attacker’s Christianity. “You can’t kill innocent children in the name of Christ; it’s fundamentally anti-Christian. The true message of Christ is one of love and defence of the weakest, and that’s the message on which France was built.”

D’Anselme was among the people who helped stop the attacker. He held a backpack between him and the attacker, which earned him the nickname “le Héros au sac à dos (the hero with the backpack)”. Video footage shows the man hitting the assassin with his backpack and then chasing him.

According to the German news outlet Tagesschau, D’Anselme is currently on a nine-month journey through France, traveling from cathedral to cathedral. He is a devout Catholic, he said in an interview. “My Christian faith also pushed me to act. I have a responsibility.”

The Catholic student, who Macron visited, could not understand the hustle and bustle of his person at all. “The truth is, everyone should have acted that way,” he says. “And I was just right there.”