More French police raids after teacher's beheading
French police raided Islamic associations and the homes of foreigners suspected of extremist religious beliefs Monday (October 19) according to police sources - three days after a suspected Islamist beheaded a school teacher.
History teacher Samuel Paty was killed outside his school in a northern Paris suburb on Friday by an 18-year-old man who was subsequently shot dead by police.
It comes after the country's top ministers attended a security and defence council meeting with President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday night (October 18).
Thousands gathered across France on Sunday to support teachers and defend freedom of expression.
From Paris to Lyon, crowds gathered quietly, pausing regularly to applaud, hold minutes of silence or sing the national anthem.
Prime Minister Jean Castex attended the gathering on Place de La Republique in Paris.
Earlier this month, Paty showed his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of expression, angering a number of Muslim parents.
The attacker - who was of Chechen origin and was born in Russia, was not previously known to the intelligence services.
