The Greek Foreign Ministry expressed “abhorrence” at the knife attack that killed three people in and around the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Nice in the French city of Nice on Thursday morning.
At least one victim, a woman, was beheaded at the scene, which police have called a “vision of horror.”
The attacker, who was heard to have shouted “Allah Akbar!” at the scene was apprehended by the police shortly after the attack.
The Greek Foreign Ministry’ expressed their “solidarity with the people and government of France,” and labeled the attack “heinous” while expressing condolences to the families of the victims.
In response to the attack, Nice’s mayor Christian Estrosi vowed that “Enough is enough … we have to remove this Islamo-fascism from our territory.”
France’s Catholic Church also released a statement condemning the “unspeakable act.”
The attack comes just weeks after French schoolteacher Samuel Paty was beheaded in a Parisian suburb after showing cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a class in which he was instructing the students about freedom of expression.
After that beheading, French President Emmanuel Macron cracked down on radical Islamic groups in France, shutting down mosques and organizations said to be linked to Islamic extremism.
His response sparked controversy around the Muslim world, with many Arab countries boycotting French products.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that Macron’s policies come from a hatred of Muslims, who make up approximately 10% of France’s population, and that the French President needed psychological treatment.
Erdogan’s comments were widely condemned as inflammatory, insulting and inappropriate.
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