President of the Khadija Mosque, Salim Touazi (C) prays before the coffin of Aboubakar Cisse, a worshipper killed by dozens of stab wounds inside the mosque on April 25th, as part of his funeral prayer, outside the Khadija Mosque in La Grand-Combe, southern France, on May 2, 2025. (Photo by Sylvain THOMAS / AFP)
La Grand-Combe, France: Hundreds of worshippers prayed on Friday at a packed funeral in rural France for Aboubakar Cisse, a 22-year-old Malian man whose violent murder in a mosque has shaken the country.
The fatal stabbing in the small southern village of La Grand-Combe on Friday last week prompted President Emmanuel Macron to insist there was no place for religious hate in French society.
On Friday, some 700 faithful gathered in the crowded Khadija Mosque and on a nearby lawn for Cisse's funeral. Worshippers prayed in front of the coffin covered by a green cloth.
Cisse was originally from the town of Yaguine in southwestern Mali, where he is due to be buried at a later date.
"This is an absolutely incredible act of hatred in a very peaceful place," Dominique Sopo, a representative of campaign group SOS Racisme, told AFP.
On Monday, French authorities said they were investigating the killing as a suspected premeditated murder on grounds of race or religion.
A man suspected of stabbing Cisse dozens of times and then filming his victim writhing in agony has surrendered to police in Italy after nearly three days on the run.
A French national of Bosnian origin, he is now awaiting extradition to France.
France is home to the largest Muslim community in the European Union, and the murder has put Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, a hardline right-winger with a tough stance on immigration, under particular pressure.
He conspicuously did not visit the scene of the killing in La Grand-Combe and has been criticised for not finding the time to meet Cisse's family.
Speaking to CNews, a broadcaster accused of fostering far-right views, Retailleau earlier this week said it was "difficult" to find Cisse's family because he lived in France without a residence permit.
He said that "Aboubakar Cisse was in an irregular situation."
French lawmakers on Tuesday observed a minute's silence to honour Cisse and some lawmakers met with his relatives.
According to a source close to the case, Retailleau will meet with members of Cisse's family in Paris on Monday.
French prosecutors have identified the suspect as Olivier Hadzovic, 21.
In the video made just after the stabbing, the killer congratulated himself, saying "I did it" and insulting "Allah", the Arabic term for God.
A man identified as the suspect's father told broadcaster BFMTV on Friday: "My son is crazy. What he did is 100 percent not normal."
He added: "I apologise to the family... I'm sorry."
The lawyers representing the victim's family want French authorities to have the investigation reclassified as a murder with "terrorist" motives.
Mourad Battikh, one of the lawyers, said there was "no doubt" that the murder was "a terrorist attack".
"The Muslim community must be treated in the same way as any other citizens," he said.
French prosecutors were scheduled to speak to journalists on Friday evening.
