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French police opened an investigation Tuesday after pig heads were discovered outside several mosques in Paris and nearby suburbs, authorities said.
“Every effort is being made to find the perpetrators of these despicable acts,” Paris police chief Laurent Nunez wrote on X.
The heads were found on public roads in the capital and three surrounding towns, according to local officials.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau condemned the acts as “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, denounced the incidents as “Islamophobic acts” and “a new and sad stage in the rise of anti-Muslim hatred,” urging “awareness and national solidarity against this dangerous trajectory.”
The incidents come shortly after a French court sentenced a 19-year-old student in Orleans to a six-month suspended prison term for posting anti-Muslim stickers in the city and on a university campus in May 2025, the Collective for Countering Islamophobia in Europe (CCIE) said.
The court cited the student’s “diminished capacity for judgment” in delivering a sentence lighter than what prosecutors sought. The student denied any intent to glorify a Nazi officer referenced in some of the stickers, claiming the act was meant as a “provocative gesture” rather than a political statement.
His sentence included a two-year probationary suspension, 70 hours of community service, a requirement to undergo treatment, a ban on carrying weapons, a €200 ($235.03) fine, and compensation for civil parties, according to CCIE.
France is home to the largest Muslim population in the European Union as well as the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States.
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights has reported a sharp rise in anti-Muslim hatred and antisemitism across several EU countries since the Gaza war began in October 2023. Experts warn that in countries such as France, Denmark, and the U.K., the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza has fueled a sustained and deeply entrenched wave of Islamophobia that goes beyond previous episodic surges.
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