The betrayal of Annecy

The Green mayor of Annecy, François Astorg, declared a fortnight ago that his town in the south-east of France was ‘a land of resistance against fascism, a land of solidarity, a refugee town for those fleeing war, misery and the unhappiness in the world’.  

On Thursday, Astorg, expressed his ‘immense sadness’ and his ‘anger’ hours after a Syrian refugee ran amok in a park in Annecy, stabbing six people including four toddlers. ‘It’s the first time this has happened in Annecy,’ declared Astorg. ‘It’s unacceptable’.  

The mayor has said that there will be a rally to bring the town together; the cynic is entitled to ask ‘what is the point?’ No doubt well-meaning people will light candles and leave cuddly toys, and perhaps some will break into song: ‘Imagine’ or ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’. But what good will this music do?

Astorg tweeted his support for refugees and migrants last month after a right-wing march through his town; immigration has been a running sore in this spot of France ever since the migrant crisis of 2015 brought more than a million people into Europe.