France’s interior minister calls for greater security for Muslim places of worship

France’s interior minister has called for greater security for Muslim places of worship after vandals defaced the walls of a mosque days before the start of Ramadan.

Early on Sunday, a caretaker and members of the local Muslim community discovered graffiti which included tags insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad on a mosque and Muslim cultural centre in the western city of Rennes.

Addressing reporters during a visit to the site, Minister of Interior Gerald Darmanin denounced the vandalism and expressed “solidarity” with France’s 5.7 million Muslims.

Darmanin said anti-Muslim inscriptions that have been inscribed on this cultural and religious centre are unacceptable because Freedom of worship in France is a fundamental freedom.”