French prefect condemns death threats against Agen mayor and mosque association president

The prefect of Lot-et-Garonne, Bruno André, on Saturday, May 16, condemned death threats made against Agen mayor Laurent Bruneau and Messaoud Settati, president of the city's mosque association. In a statement, André denounced "racist and Islamophobic remarks that accompanied the threats."

Bruneau said in a statement Wednesday that he had received an anonymous letter containing three large-caliber bullets and violent language. "This letter, accompanied by three large-caliber bullets and particularly violent remarks, constitutes a serious act of intimidation," he wrote, adding that he had filed a complaint.

Settati received similar threats on Friday and also filed a complaint. In a joint statement published on Instagram on Friday, the two men said that "hatred, calls for violence, and murder have no place in democracy in general, nor in Agen in particular."

An investigation has been assigned to the police in Agen, the prefecture said. "In Lot-et-Garonne, the state remains fully mobilized to prevent and combat all forms of hatred, racism, and Islamophobia," the prefect wrote.