IN SHORT: Footage of a violent assault in Bordeaux, France is distressing. But the alleged assailant was born in and is a citizen of the country. His family has said they were concerned for his mental health.
In late June 2023 a video of an assault on an elderly woman and a small girl in France's southwestern city of Bordeaux went viral with the claim the assailant was a migrant from Africa, an "illegal Muslim immigrant" or a "refugee".
The attack was reported by media outlets across the world. Some claim the man had tried to kidnap the girl.
The 30-second surveillance video starts with the woman and girl standing on the doorstep of a building looking out onto the street.
A man holding what seem to be plastic bags approaches and the woman and child retreat into the building. He then forces his way through the door.
Moments later the man has pulled the two out the home where they land on their backs on the pavement. He snatches several items from them, including the bags he was first seen carrying.
He then grabs the girl by her arm and throws her down the pavement. He quickly releases her to pick up another object, and runs down the street. The girl runs back to the woman.
Captions to the video, posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, include:
Utterly shocking, attempted kidnap of a child by an African migrant. #Diversity - bringing fear and violence to our streets. We need #Remigration - and soon.
Video from France, a mother and her child were attacked by an African migrant at their home. Peaceful people and their culture! Welcome to new Europa!
KEEP YOUR KIDS SAFE FROM THIS SCUM. June 19th bordeaux.migrant SCUM
France. An attack on a grandmother and her granddaughter by an illegal Muslim immigrant.
France. A mother and daughter attacked in broad daylight by a "refugee". Luckily, the daughter escapes being abducted. She would have been raped, probably until she died.
Shocking video of violent attack on a grandmother and granddaughter by a migrant in Bordeaux, France goes viral; Netizen demand strict anti-immigration laws.
The claim that the suspect is a migrant has also appeared on blogs across the world. It's also made in a BitChute video posted by RT, previously known as Russia Today.
Other posts suggest the man should be deported from France.
Arrested man 'totally French'
According to media reports, the attack happened on the evening of 19 June. The woman was identified as the 73-year-old grandmother of the girl, whose age was given as seven.
Migration into France and other European countries has been topical for years. It was an important campaign issue in France's 2022 presidential election.
France's far-right National Rally party (formerly the National Front) has long opposed migration.
But the suspect in the assault is a citizen of France. He was born in the country in 1993.
Several reports based on press releases from the Bordeaux prosecutor's office have confirmed this.
"The suspect has been identified as [a] 29-year-old French national," the European Conservative reported, giving the name of the alleged assailant.
"From a police source, 'the respondent is French, born in France (in Bordeaux)' in July 1993," a machine translation of the France-based Libération website read.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The global newswire Reuters followed up with official confirmation that the alleged assailant was French.
"A spokesperson for the government of the Gironde region around Bordeaux as well as the city's deputy prosecutor confirmed to Reuters in separate emails that the suspect was born in France," Reuters said.
"Sébastien Baumert-Stortz, deputy prosecutor in charge of the General Secretariat Judicial Court of Bordeaux, said the man was born in Bordeaux on July 12, 1993."
The deputy prosecutor added that the suspect was "totally French".
It was reported that the man was homeless and had severe "behavioural problems linked to a psychotic and schizophrenic pathology".
He was later released from police custody and admitted to the Charles Perrens psychiatric hospital in Bordeaux for treatment.
The man's family said he was "out of the care of a doctor" at the time of the attack.
