Overview

• The French Senate will not observe a minute of silence for Aboubakar Cissé, who was murdered in a mosque in La Grand-Combe, Gard, on April 25.
• Senate President Gérard Larcher stated that moments of silence are reserved for senators' deaths or grave events like terrorist attacks.
• Instead, Larcher will deliver a preliminary statement recalling recent violent incidents, including the murders in Gard and Nantes and the assault on a rabbi in Orléans.
• The decision contrasts with the National Assembly, which reversed an initial refusal and unanimously held a minute of silence on April 29.
• La France Insoumise has called for a national mobilization against Islamophobia on May 11, highlighting broader societal tensions over anti-Muslim sentiment.