Why We Should Change the Conversation Around The Nice Attack

People have been quick to jump to conclusions about the attacker. Maybe it’s time to change the conversation.

In early 2015, gunmen killed 12 people in the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in the French capital.

Less than a year ago, 130 people were killed in a series of gun and suicide attacks in Paris.

And now, 80 more people were mowed down by a truck during French National Day celebrations in the southern city of Nice.

The media has been quick to lump together these three major attacks. But as more information emerges about the perpetrator, it is becoming clear that the situation may not fit into the same category as the massacres in Paris.

More than 24 hours after the attack took place, ISIS took credit for the massacre and claimed the perpetrator, Mohammed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, was a “soldier of the Islamic State.” But so far, investigators have not found any links to extremist Islamic groups. In fact, reports suggest that depression and mental illness may have played a role in the attacker’s motivation – he just also happened to be Muslim. And Bouhlel’s father told the media that his son had no ties to religious groups.

That didn’t stop global leaders (including the French president) from calling the attack an act of Islamic extremism even before ISIS made the claim. So why are people so quick to jump to conclusions about religion and religious motivation? Here’s a look at some of France’s history of intolerance towards Muslims and its relationship with Islamic countries.

Religious Discrimination

Muslim communities in France face racism and systemic inequality. In 2008, a Washington Post investigation estimated that 70 percent of France’s inmates were Muslim. As a secular country, France cannot legally ask for information on religious identity, so exact figures don’t exist. Some of the attackers, like one of the brothers behind the Charlie Hebdo attack, turned to radical Islam in prison.

Almost half the European fighters who joined the ISIS in Syria and Iraq came from France.

The Rise of Nationalism

It’s something of a catch-22. The rise in extreme attacks is leading more people to vote for the far right party, Le Front National, which has an anti-immigration and extremely nationalistic rhetoric. The party uses these massacres as an opportunity to further their agenda. Following the Paris attacks, Le Front National won more than half the country’s regional elections.

At the same time, this growing resentment towards immigrants or descendants of immigrants, fuelled in part by the discourse coming from Le Front National, has lead some people to extremism. Since the Charlie Hebdo attacks, Muslims have been the target of growing levels of intolerance, a recent study found. Many of the recent attacks have included “home-grown” extremists – French nationals. The Charlie Hebdo shooting was carried out by brothers who grew up in France.

A History of Conflict

France’s colonial past is intricately tied with Muslim nations of North and West Africa. During the World Wars, many soldiers came from these colonies to fight for France. Now, France has one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe.

Outside its borders, France continues to exert an influence in North and Western Africa. Thousands of soldiers are stationed there. In 2013, French troops fought off Islamic extremists taking over parts of Mali.

The country has also launched retaliatory strikes in territory controlled by ISIS, following the attacks.

Time For Another Conversation

The recent history of large-scale attacks in France and intolerance against Muslims has dominated the conversation around the Nice massacre. And with ISIS now taking credit, the issue will once again be painted as an act of Islamic extremism.

But there’s also the possibility that ISIS wasn’t really behind the attack -- they’re just retroactively taking credit. And they are able to do so because they encourage their followers to act on their own.

What is clear is that the Nice attacker was a lone wolf, known for his aggression and known for general anti-social behaviour. His profile resembles, in many ways, that of the Orlando shooter. In an address to the media, Bouhlel’s father said his son suffered from depression and took medication for nervous breakdowns.

So maybe we need to start looking more at the person behind the attack, and less at their religion. Maybe it’s time we start having a serious talk about mental illness.