Ali Rabeh criticizes Marine Le Pen's absence from the Assembly tribute and calls for a cordon sanitaire against the RN
Ali RabehMayor of Trappes, at a press conference at the National Assembly organized by the Ecologist and Social group
At a press conference at the National Assembly after its tribute to the victims, Rabeh says he feels frustration and anger. He criticizes Marine Le Pen's absence, says the far right has grown from 8 to nearly 90 deputies in ten years and holds two vice-presidencies of the Assembly, says no other ideology represented there kills, and calls for rebuilding a cordon sanitaire inside the Assembly.
Responding to
Rassemblement national leaders bear direct responsibility for the gunman's decision to carry out the October 23, 2026 racist attack in Trappes and La Verrière.
“the eloquent absence of Marine Le Pen, the far-right party's candidate, who clearly could not manage to meet the gaze of Pengo's family ... There are not, I believe, in this Assembly, representatives of other ideologies that kill. (Translated from French. Original: l'absence éloquente de Marine Le Pen, la candidate du parti d'extrême droite qui n'a manifestement pas réussi à soutenir le regard de la famille de Pengo ... Il n'y a pas, je crois, dans cette Assemblée, de représentants d'autres idéologies qui font des morts.)”
Reporting
Other statements by Ali Rabeh in this case
- In an open letter, Ali Rabeh says Bardella and his party placed a target on the back of every Trappes residentEarlier: Condemned
- At a Trappes rally, Ali Rabeh says Rassemblement national leaders bear direct responsibility for the attackLater: Condemned
- Ali Rabeh says words always come before acts and that RN rhetoric about Trappes has not stopped since the attackLater: Condemned
Where this statement fits
Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh says Rassemblement national leaders bear responsibility for the racist attack in his town; RN officials reject the accusation
On October 23, 2026, a gunman shot at passers-by in Trappes and neighboring La Verrière, west of Paris, killing Pengo Bossio Wangi, a 26-year-old Black Frenchman, and wounding seven people, including a 12-year-old girl. France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office opened an investigation for murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise, with the aggravating circumstance that the victims were targeted for their real or supposed race, ethnicity, nation or religion. According to anti-terrorism prosecutor Olivier Christen, the suspect, charged on October 29, admitted specifically targeting people he took to be Muslim, African or North African and chose Trappes because he saw it as a den of Islamists. Stickers praising the Rassemblement national (RN) were found at his home; he told investigators he was not a member or supporter of any party. Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh called the shooting a racist and probably Islamophobic attack and said that speeches blaming the country's ills on Arab Muslims kill. In an open letter on October 26 he wrote that Jordan Bardella and his party had placed a target on the back of every resident of Trappes, and at a rally in the town on October 30 he said RN leaders bear direct responsibility for the attacker's act, citing Bardella's description of Trappes as an Islamic republic in miniature. RN officials rejected the accusation. Sébastien Chenu, president of the RN group in the National Assembly, stood by Bardella's words and called Trappes a hotbed of jihadists; spokesperson Julien Odoul called the accusations delirious; and deputy Laure Lavalette said the RN is totally innocent of the tragedy. On November 10 Bardella said left-wing and far-left leaders, naming the mayor of Trappes and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, were putting fatwas and targets on the backs of political figures.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Report by the National Assembly's channel, LCP, on the press conference Ali Rabeh gave at the Palais-Bourbon on October 27, 2026, after the minute of silence and government questions session that followed the attack.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Rabeh watched the October 27 minute of silence for Pengo Bossio Wangi and the government questions session that followed from the public gallery. He says he will remember the minute of silence, when the national representation was united for a moment in recognizing the gravity of what happened.
After the quotation
Rabeh also criticizes Aurore Bergé, the minister for the fight against discrimination, for not regretting what he describes as her past televised remark that the great replacement theory deserved debate, and calls Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's mention of the death of Quentin Deranque a form of indecency. He hopes the presidential campaign will bring a collective awareness of the danger of the far right.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the public rhetoric of Rassemblement national leaders and other far-right politicians about Trappes, Muslims and immigrants, which Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh holds responsible for the October 23, 2026 racist attack in Trappes and La Verrière. Rabeh describes the far right represented by the RN as an ideology that kills and calls for it to be isolated in the Assembly, which condemns that rhetoric and its authors.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Rassemblement national
More from this case
Read the full caseRN spokesperson Andréa Kotarac says Marine Tondelier shames herself by blaming the RN for the Trappes attack and announces legal action
“By directly accusing @RNational_off of the racist attack in #Trappes, Ms. Tondelier is covering herself in shame. I am informing you that we are bringing legal proceedings against this person and her fake news. (Translated from French. Original: En accusant directement le @RNational_off de l'attentat raciste de #Trappes, Madame Tondelier se couvre de honte. Je vous informe que nous engageons une procédure judiciaire contre cette personne et ses fakenews.)”Read statement
Marine Tondelier says the RN should explain itself rather than sue her over her remarks on the Trappes attack
“It is up to the Rassemblement national to explain itself rather than to take me to court ... They must draw the consequences (Translated from French. Original: C'est au Rassemblement national de s'expliquer plutôt que de m'attaquer en justice ... Il faut qu'ils en tirent les conséquences)”Read statement
Jordan Bardella says left-wing leaders like the mayor of Trappes are putting targets on politicians' backs and defends his remarks on the town
“left-wing and far-left leaders putting fatwas and targets on the backs of political figures like the mayor of Trappes, and Mr. Mélenchon did it to us ... I have the right to point the finger at and to want to fight an ideology that, precisely in Trappes, sent several dozen young people to fight in Syria in the name of the Islamic State (Translated from French. Original: des dirigeants de gauche et d'extrême gauche mettre des fatwas et des cibles sur le dos de responsable politiques comme le maire de Trappes, et Monsieur Mélenchon l'a fait avec nous ... J'ai le droit de pointer du doigt et de vouloir combattre une idéologie qui précisément à Trappes a envoyé plusieurs dizaines de jeunes combattre en Syrie au nom de l'État islamique)”Read statement
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- Title
- Ali Rabeh criticizes Marine Le Pen's absence from the Assembly tribute and calls for a cordon sanitaire against the RN
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The Dispute Index. "Ali Rabeh criticizes Marine Le Pen's absence from the Assembly tribute and calls for a cordon sanitaire against the RN". First published: 2026-11-13. Last updated: 2026-11-13. https://disputeindex.com/events/8788-at-a-press-conference-at-the-national-assembly