Nine pig heads were discovered outside mosques in Paris this week, in what community leaders have condemned as shocking Islamophobic acts, The Guardian reported. The incidents come as France faces a sharp rise in anti-Muslim hatred since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
According to the French interior ministry, anti-Muslim incidents rose by 75% between January and May 2025, compared to the same period last year, with attacks on individuals tripling. The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights has also flagged an increase in both Islamophobia and antisemitism across several European nations since the conflict began.
The desecration around Paris drew swift condemnation from political and religious leaders. President Emmanuel Macron met Muslim community representatives to express his support, while Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said the city had taken legal action, denouncing the incidents as “racist acts.”
Interior minister Bruno Retailleau called the attacks “outrageous” and “absolutely unacceptable.” He added: “I want our Muslim compatriots to be able to practise their faith in peace.”
Chems-Eddine Hafiz, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, described the discovery of the pig heads as “a new and sad stage in the rise of anti-Muslim hatred.” Bassirou Camara, head of anti-discrimination group Addam, warned of further escalation: “We have been raising the alarm for months, and we are not being heard. What will be the next step? Throwing pigs’ heads at worshippers or physically assaulting them?”
Earlier in June, three Serbian nationals were charged over the vandalism of Jewish sites, in a case investigators suspect may have been backed by Russia, the report said.
France hosts the largest Muslim community in the European Union and the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the US, making it a focal point of growing communal tensions.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron named loyalist Sebastien Lecornu, a one-time conservative protege who rallied behind his 2017 presidential run, as prime minister on Tuesday, defying expectations he might tack towards the left.
The choice of Lecornu, 39, indicates Macron’s determination to press on with a minority government that will not rip up his pro-business reform agenda, under which taxes on business and the wealthy have been cut and the retirement age raised.
