Paris shooting suspect charged as tribute rallies take place in France

The suspected gunman in France shooting that killed three Kurds in Paris last week, was charged on Monday. On the same day, hundreds of people marched in the French capital to pay tribute to the victims. The incident had occurred at a Kurdish cultural centre and a nearby hairdressing salon on Friday. The city's bustling 10th district is home to numerous shops and restaurants and a large Kurdish population.

The judge charged him with murder, attempted murder because of race, ethnicity, nationality or religion as well as for the unauthorised procurement and possession of a weapon, a judicial source said.

The 69-year-old suspect had earlier confessed to a "pathological" hatred for foreigners. He spent nearly a day in a psychiatric facility before being returned to police custody on Sunday, authorities said.

In 2013, three Kurds were killed in Paris and the murders remain unsolved till date. The Kurdish community was unhappy with the way the French police handled the matter, saying they had done too little to prevent the shooting. On Saturday, furious demonstrators clashed with police in central Paris for a second day following a tribute rally.

Around 600 people also attended a tribute rally in the northwestern French city of Rennes on Monday evening, the Ille-et-Vilaine prefecture said.

Protesters took to the streets in the 10th district on Monday, with several hundred people marching in the 10th district, chanting "our martyrs do not die" in Kurdish and demanding "truth and justice". Another procession took place in the street in the same neighbourhood where three activists from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an organisation Turkey and its Western allies deem terrorist, were killed in January 2013.

Some in the Kurdish community believe that Turkey was involved in Friday's shooting, but French investigators have not made any announcements to that effect.

(With inputs from agencies)

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