Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh says he reminded BFMTV of the media's responsibility after the attack
Ali RabehMayor of Trappes
Rabeh shares a clip of his BFMTV interview from the day of the attack and says that letting it be said on air that Trappes is Kabul stigmatizes the town and its residents, feeds an imagined crusade and has dramatic consequences.
Responding to
The ideological discourse that leads people to plan attacks against an enemy within is also made on television sets such as BFMTV's.
“On BFM, I pointed to the immense responsibility of the media. (Translated from French. Original: Sur BFM, j'ai rappelé la responsabilité immense des médias.)”
Original post
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Critics say BFMTV let racist remarks go unchallenged before the Trappes attack; the channel calls the accusations unfounded
On October 23, 2026, a gunman killed one person and wounded five in Trappes and La Verrière, west of Paris. France's anti-terrorism prosecutors opened an investigation for murder connected to a terrorist enterprise, with a racist aggravating circumstance, and Puremédias reports that according to the first findings the suspect wanted to avenge the looting of October 17 and chose his victims by skin color. That day, Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh said on BFMTV that the ideological discourse behind such attacks is also made on television sets. BFMTV cancelled an interview with Éric Zemmour planned for October 24. On October 24, Jean-Luc Mélenchon told a BFMTV reporter to calm down on racist remarks, and on October 25 deputy Louis Boyard said on the channel that politicians make racist remarks daily and that media give an unjust image of working-class neighborhoods. The SNJ and CGT unions at RMC BFM said racism now had a place on the channel's air. BFMTV said it would not accept being the target of pressure and denounced unfounded accusations against its journalists as a public smear campaign.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Post on X by Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh, in French, on the evening of the October 23 attack, sharing a clip of his interview on BFMTV that day.
Reporting
About this source
Puremédias report, in French, on BFMTV reporters being confronted at an October 24 rally in Trappes for the victims of the attack. It quotes the channel's journalists' society and management, Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh's criticism of BFMTV on air on October 23, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon's remark to a BFMTV reporter in Paris on October 24.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Puremédias reports that in a live BFMTV interview on October 23, Rabeh said the ideological discourse that lets people plan attacks is also made on television sets (translation).
After the quotation
Puremédias reports that Rabeh cited remarks on RMC's Les Grandes Gueules in October 2024, when columnist Jean-Loup Bonnamy joked about a series called Emily in Kaboul set in Trappes.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case concerns whether BFMTV let racist remarks go unchallenged on air before the Trappes attack, as its critics say. Rabeh holds the channel responsible for letting stigmatizing remarks about Trappes be said on air, remarks he says have dramatic consequences, which condemns the conduct under scrutiny.
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More from this case
Read the full caseBFMTV calls the accusations against its journalists unfounded
BFMTV
“denounces the unfounded accusations made over the past 48 hours against its air and its journalists, victims of a public smear campaign, notably around Sonia Mabrouk (Translated from French. Original: dénonce les accusations sans fondement proférées depuis 48 heures contre son antenne et ses journalistes, victimes d'une campagne de dénigrement publique notamment autour de Sonia Mabrouk)”Read statement
Louis Boyard faults media portrayals of working-class neighborhoods on BFMTV
“You have politicians who make racist remarks every day, but you also have media that give such an unjust image of working-class neighborhoods (Translated from French. Original: Vous avez des responsables politiques qui tiennent des propos racistes au quotidien, mais vous avez aussi des médias qui donnent une image des quartiers populaires qui est tellement injuste)”Read statement
CGT union at RMC BFM calls for an end to normalizing far-right ideas in its media
CGT RMC BFM
“Let us take our responsibilities. Let us stop normalizing far-right ideas in our media. (Translated from French. Original: Prenons nos responsabilités. Arrêtons de banaliser les idées d'extrême droite dans nos médias.)”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh says he reminded BFMTV of the media's responsibility after the attack". First published: 2026-10-31. Last updated: 2026-10-31. https://disputeindex.com/events/7548-rabeh-shares-a-clip-of-his-bfmtv-interview