Priest Shot In Orthodox Church In France By Man Shouting 'Allahu Akbar' As Muslims Hold Major Protests Against French President Emmanuel Macron

An orthodox priest has been shot and seriously wounded in the city of Lyon in France. The attacker was said to have shouted 'Allahu Akbar', 'God is great' in Arabic, before he shot the man. Early reports say he was hit with a sawn-off shotgun.

The police are now hunting the suspect.

À #Lyon, un prêtre orthodoxe a été touché par balle alors qu'il fermait son église, au 45 Rue Père Chevrier#attaque à caractère #terroriste ne fait aucun doute pour Moi, dans le contexte actuel, elle porte une Signature #islamiste

Pronostic vital engagé pic.twitter.com/VZrtKM4WBA

— La Fouine #FrançaisReveillezVous 🇫🇷 (@BBR4369) October 31, 2020

The shooting comes just two days after an attacker killed three people at a church in Nice and a short time after a French history teacher was beheaded for showing a cartoon of the Islamic prophet Mohammed to his class. It is now widely assumed that the shooting of the priest is linked to Islamic extremist ideology.

France, and its president, Emmanuel Macron, have been under attack after Macron claimed that members of the Islamic community were not properly integrating into French society, and due to the fact that he has defended France's free-speech laws.

Protests were held in Islamic countries around the world with effigies of Macron and French flags being burned. Huge gatherings took place in Pakistan, Lebanon, Bangladesh and other countries. One protest leader in Bangladesh addressed the crowd saying:

"Doesn't matter whether it is France, America, Russia or any other bigger power in the world, we won't tolerate anybody making fun of our beloved Prophet."

The protests come as a former Malaysian Prime Minister said that Muslims have the right 'to kill millions of French people'. The statement made on twitter was quickly removed by the social media platform and was widely condemned.

France is a famously secular country that separates religion and the state. In educational facilities no teaching of religion is allowed, and girls are forbidden from wearing headscarves in school. Women are also banned from wearing burkas and face coverings in public.

France has, in the last decade, lost hundreds of lives to Islamic extremism including, the Charlie Hebdo attacks, the Marseille truck attack and the attack on the Parisian Nightclub, The Bataclan.