Four young children injured in knife attack in French town of Annecy

BFM TV reported that the attack had happened in a park and that the assailant had been a Syrian asylum seeker.

 French police secure the area after several children and an adult have been injured in a knife attack in Annecy, in the French Alps, France, June 8, 2023 (photo credit: REUTERS/DENIS BALIBOUSE)
French police secure the area after several children and an adult have been injured in a knife attack in Annecy, in the French Alps, France, June 8, 2023
(photo credit: REUTERS/DENIS BALIBOUSE)

A Syrian national wounded four children and an adult in a knife attack in a French park on Thursday, police said, leaving some of the victims critically ill in hospital.

The attack, which happened in the French alpine town of Annecy, was carried out by a Syrian national with legal refugee status in France, a police official told Reuters.

"Children and one adult are between life and death. The nation is in shock," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement on Twitter, calling the attack "an act of absolute cowardice."

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Twitter that adding the attacker had been arrested.

 French police secure the area after several children and an adult have been injured in a knife attack in Annecy, in the French Alps, France, June 8, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/DENIS BALIBOUSE)
French police secure the area after several children and an adult have been injured in a knife attack in Annecy, in the French Alps, France, June 8, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/DENIS BALIBOUSE)

Two children and one adult are in life-threatening condition, while two children were slightly hurt, police said.

Witnesses said at least one child involved was in a stroller.

"Nothing more abominable than to attack children," French national assembly speaker Yael Braun-Pivet said on Twitter. The French parliament observed a minute of silence to mark the incident.

One of injured children in French knife attack was British, says UK's Cleverly

 A British national was among the children injured in a knife attack in the French town of Annecy on Thursday, British foreign minister James Cleverly said.


Stay updated with the latest news!

Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter


Cleverly was speaking at an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) news conference in Paris.

 Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.