Tunis, June 2 — Interior Minister Khaled Nouri, on Monday evening, held a phone call with his French counterpart, Bruno Retailleau, during which he strongly condemned the crime that resulted in the death of Tunisian citizen Hichem Miraoui last Saturday in Béziers-sur-Argens (Var region, France).

The tragic incident has caused "profound grief and outrage among Tunisian public opinion", according to a statement from the Interior Ministry, which described the crime as "terrorist" in nature.

Nouri stressed to his French counterpart the "necessity of providing adequate protection for the Tunisian community residing in France and ensuring their safety", as well as "adopting a proactive approach to prevent such crimes that harm humanity and guarantee they are not repeated."

He added that "hate speech and intolerance often lead to such horrific crimes."

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For his part, the French Interior Minister expressed his strong condemnation of this "racist crime", also labeling it as "terrorist."

He affirmed his country's complete rejection of anything that could incite division within French society.

On behalf of himself and the French government, he extended his deepest condolences to the victim's family, stressing that the French judicial authorities will not hesitate to impose the harshest penalties on the perpetrator, who "does not represent French society or the values of the French state," as indicated in the official release.

According to French media reports, a 53-year-old Frenchman shot and killed his neighbour, a 35-year-old Tunisian national and also wounded a Turkish youth in the incident.

The Public Prosecutor's Office in the Var region has opened an investigation into the case on charges of "murder with racist motives."