Overview
- In a recorded June 5, 2024 exchange, LFI deputy Nathalie Oziol says she does not agree with calling Samuel Paty’s killer a “fanatical Muslim,” arguing the issue concerns resources and schooling rather than religion.
- Libération posted the video after Oziol publicly denied the reporting, accused the journalist of fabrication on X, and then deleted her posts; the paper says she did not provide an on-the-record explanation.
- Mickaëlle Paty’s lawyer, Carine Chaix, condemned the remarks and said she would review whether they could meet the threshold for apology for terrorism under French law.
- Investigations into the 2020 murder found Abdoullakh Anzorov declared he had “avenged the prophet” and displayed a background of religious radicalization and extremist online activity.
- The reporting situates the interview within a WhatsApp group called “Oumma Montpellier” that backed LFI during the 2024 European elections and campaigns against the PS mayor in Montpellier.