► What to remember
• A car drove into the crowd at the Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg on Friday December 20, 2024, leaving two dead and 68 injured, according to a report announced at 11 p.m. The authorities suspect a “ attack ”, without yet any confirmation.
• The suspect was arrested. This is a man who arrived in Germany in 2006, originally from Saudi Arabia and who works as a doctor.
• The head of the regional government of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff, announced that the authorities were “son a war footing “. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Magdeburg this Saturday.
• François Bayrou and Emmanuel Macron each reacted to X, expressing their “ solidarity » with the victims, their loved ones and their families.
► “We are all upset”, reacts Bayrou
« We are all upset » reacted François Bayrou on X Friday December 20, after a car drove into the Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg Friday December 20.
« The French are reliving the terror of the terrorist attacks that affected us », recalled the Prime Minister.
► “France shares the pain of the German people,” says Macron
Emmanuel Macron said to himself “deeply shocked” by the drama, in a publication on X. “France shares the pain of the German people and expresses its solidarity”declared the French president. The President of the Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet deplored “horror” aiming “a place where only joy should reign”.
► Reiner Haseloff: “We are on a war footing”
« We see the situation more clearly, even if we do not yet have all the information “, explained Reiner Haseloff, Minister President of the Saxony-Anhalt region. The politician spoke of the act of an isolated individual, of a “ lone wolf » fifty years old.
« This is a man from Saudi Arabia who works as a doctor », in the region of Saxony-Anhalt, detailed the head of the regional government, adding that the man arrived in Germany in 2006.
« We are on a war footing “, he said, detailing a security perimeter established around the city of Magdeburg. “ We call on all doctors to help us “. A press conference is organized this Saturday.
► At least two dead and 68 injured according to local authorities
Magdeburg town hall announced at least two deaths and 68 injuries after a car crashed into crowds at the town's Christmas market.
These figures are not yet final. According to newspaper information BILDat least eleven people were reportedly killed.
► “Our thoughts are in Magdeburg”, declares the mayor of Strasbourg
« This evening, in Strasbourg, our eyes, our thoughts are in Magdeburg » reacted on X Jeanne Barseghian, mayor of Strasbourg. “ We are deeply shocked by the horror that is hitting the Christmas market. The fear is immense » she adds, “ We stand together in these terrible hours. »
On December 11, 2018, an attack was carried out in the city center of Strasbourg. This evening, the Magdeburg authorities said they “suspect” an attacker, without yet any confirmation.
► A suspect arrested near the Christmas market
A suspect has been arrested in Germany, local police said. No details were provided about this man. The car that drove into the crowd “at least 400 meters through the Christmas market” is still on site, said a spokesperson for the Magdeburg police.
► Suspicion of “attack”
Regional authorities said they suspected a “attack” in Germany, at the Magdeburg Christmas market where dozens of people were injured on Friday after a car crashed into the crowd. “We think it was an attack”said a spokeswoman for the Saxony-Anhalt regional interior ministry.
► These events “ portend the worst », declared Olaf Scholz
These events portend the worst “, declared German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser recently called on the population to be vigilant at Christmas markets, without mentioning any specific threats. These places are a “ideologically appropriate target for people motivated by Islamism”had recently warned the intelligence services.
The chancellor will travel to Magdeburg this Saturday.
► In 2016, a bloody ram truck attack
Germany experienced a bloody ram truck attack on a Christmas market in December 2016, claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group, which left 12 dead in the center of Berlin.
At the end of August, a knife attack committed by a Syrian and claimed by IS left three people dead and several injured during a party in Solingen (west).
In June, another knife attack, attributed to an Afghan during an anti-Islam rally in Mannheim, left one dead, a police officer who had intervened. In September, a 27-year-old Syrian man suspected of links to radical Islam was arrested for planning a machete attack targeting German soldiers in a Bavarian town.
► “Intervention in progress” on the Christmas market
The police of this city of around 250,000 inhabitants, capital of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, speak of a « importante intervention » underway on the Christmas market, according to a message on X.
NTV broadcaster showed numerous ambulances and fire trucks at the site, injured people being rushed to hospitals and rescuers installing aid devices for the victims.
► Several seriously injured in an “incident involving a car”
A car crashed into a group of people at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, northern Germany, early Friday evening, leaving 60 to 80 people injured, several media and emergency services said.
According to the Bild newspaper, more than 20 people were injured while witnesses reported several deaths, according to the regional media Volksstimme. The authorities have not communicated an exact assessment: “an incident” on the Christmas market, “involving a car” did “several seriously injured”said a spokesperson for the Magdeburg emergency services.
