The number of attacks against Muslims has dramatically increased in France following a series of terrorist attacks in 2015, the US Department of Sate said in its annual International Religious Freedom Report released on Wednesday.
“Subsequent to the January and November terrorist attacks, there were reports of violent attacks against Muslims around the country,” the report stated. “The Interior Ministry reported a sharp increase in anti-Muslim incidents, up by 223 percent over the previous year.”
In January 2015, two gunmen attacked the office of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris, killing 12 people and wounding 11 more, after the media outlet published satirical cartoons of Prophet Muhammad.
A series of terrorist attacks carried out across Paris on November 13 claimed 130 lives and injured over 350 people. The Islamic State terrorist group claimed the responsibility for the attack.
The State Department noted that anti-Muslim incidents that took place in France in the aftermath of the assaults included destruction and vandalism of Muslim places, hate speech and violence.
The US authorities have also noted in the report that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in France has dropped by about 5 percent.
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