France seeks explanations for Annecy's horror and celebrates its heroes

This is the story of a city and a country horrified by a crime for no apparent reason, and at the same time dazzled by the acts of courage of citizens who prevented a massacre. It is also the story of Abdalmasih and Henri. One is Syrian; the other, French. The first is being held for stabbing several young children in a park in Annecy, a placid and prosperous city in the French Alps, on Thursday. The second rests these days in a house in a residential neighborhood of the same city and tries to digest what happened in the last hours.

It was Henri who, armed only with his backpack, chased Abdalmasih away from the playground where he was chasing children and babies — "the most barbaric act imaginable," President Emmanuel Macron said — and thus, risking his life, saved the lives of others. If there were no deaths, it was thanks to Henri and other citizens who chased Abdalmasih and allowed the police to arrest him a few minutes later.

This is the story of Abdalmasih and Henri, two fates that crossed fortuitously, two men born in the nineties, 31 and 24 years, respectively. One wanted to hurt and kill defenseless beings and another saved them and is already called the "hero of the backpack". The first was carrying a cross in his hand when he carried out the attack. In one of the videos that has circulated on social media, it appears to say in English: "In the name of Jesus Christ." The second is a devout Catholic who stopped in Annecy during a nine-month walking tour of France's cathedrals.

This is the story of a Syrian refugee who declared himself a Christian from the East and with a Christian name – Abdalmasih means "the servant of the messiah" – and of a French boy who says he has been guided since childhood by faith in Christ.

Henri told BFM-TV on Friday morning: "I don't know what [religion] [Abdalmasih] claims to be about, but what I know is that it is profoundly anti-Christian to attack perfectly unarmed and weak innocent beings. Every Christian civilization, on which our country has been built, consists precisely in a chivalrous message of defending the widow and the orphan."

"Now he is very tired, he is resting," Arnaud, Henri's uncle, said at noon as he opened the door of the house where he lives these days. Arnaud prefers not to give his surname, nor Henri's. She said her nephew was not afraid: "He acted on instinct." He says it may have been his past as a boy scout that guided him. And religion: "Faith drives him."

In the doorway of the central Royale street, where Abdalmasih spent the night during the last months, Sofia Moreno, a woman of Portuguese origin who manages rental apartments in the building, explained: "I never saw his face: he covered his head with a handkerchief. He didn't say anything. As far as I know, he was never aggressive."

France moves between horror and incomprehension. And hope about the condition of the seriously injured, who are improving, according to the latest information. Of the four injured children, one is Dutch and one is English.

Macron and his wife, Brigitte, visited the injured and their hospitalized families in nearby Grenoble. He later met in Annecy with the citizens, police and personnel who subdued the assailant and rescued the victims – including the "hero with the backpack" – and declared: "We can have the greatest hope for the children and adults affected. Normally, things will continue to improve."

Unknowns accumulate about the trajectory of the aggressor and his motivations. It is known that he is Syrian, that he arrived in Sweden about a decade ago, that he obtained a permanent residence permit in that country, that he married a woman of Syrian origin and Swedish nationalized, that they had a daughter, that they separated. Why he left for France at the end of 2022 – and why Annecy, a postcard city with its lake and towering mountains – is unclear. One possible reason is that Sweden denied him citizenship, allegedly because between 2011 and 2013 he had belonged to the Syrian army, according to Le Monde newspaper. In France, he filed an application for asylum, which was rejected on 5 June.

The interrogation is progressing slowly, according to a source in the investigation cited by Le Monde. The source says Abdalmasih maintains an "obstructionist" attitude. "It's thrown on the floor," he adds. A psychiatric examination has established that he is "anxious and depressed," according to BFM-TV.

The event is a flammable political matter. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally party, told Europe 1 radio: "We need a referendum on immigration. It is the only way to regain control. I don't admit that we can't decide who enters and who stays in our territory."

Le Pen connects with a malaise present in French society, and in Annecy. And it encourages it.

Friday, 9.45 a.m., in Le Pâquier, the lakeside meadow where 24 hours earlier Abdalmasih stabbed children and where Henri and other citizens stopped him. There are journalists, cameras, neighbors who come to bring flowers and leave messages. Spontaneously a gathering is formed, and what some say is not kind to the president of the Republic. Some are not happy that he is coming.

Valérie, a 50-year-old administrative assistant, says: "The president, at this time, needs to regain popularity, and when there is an event like this, he tries to clean up his image. What I reproach you for is that this will be forgotten, until there is another drama. And what changes? Nothing." Valérie is in favour of a referendum on immigration. "And the result," he adds, "I already know: people are fed up." Sylvie, mother of a two-and-a-half-year-old boy, notes the age of some of the injured: "They should send everyone to their countries, all those who do not have papers. It's sad to say, but we don't feel safe." Matías, a 19-year-old student who has overheard the conversation, approaches the journalist and says: "I find it a bit silly that politics gets involved here, I prefer that we contribute our support to the families."

Abdalmasih lived between this park and the portal of Royale Street, a pedestrian area of shops and cafes. By day it was installed on a bench by the river. At seven o'clock in the afternoon he walked to the portal that served as his residence, spread some cardboard under the mailboxes and covered himself with a sleeping bag. He was well dressed and brushed his teeth before bed, recalls Bertrand, who runs a sportswear store right in front of the doorway. Bertrand saw him arrive when he closed the shop. When it opened in the morning, it was already gone.

Sofia Moreno, the woman who deals with flats in the building on Royale Street and who crossed paths almost daily with Abdalmasih, corroborates that her schedules were rigorous. There was only one exception. It was a recent Saturday or Sunday, he does not specify the exact date. "It was the only time I saw him sleeping earlier," she explains. "He had a bottle of whiskey with him. I told myself I would be drunk."

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