Strasbourg reopened its traditional Christmas market under heavy security Friday, the morning after French police fatally shot a gunman suspected of killing four people in the heart of the historic city. The attack on Strasbourg’s cherished Christmas market, a target full of religious symbolism, evoked France’s difficulties in integrating Western Europe’s largest Muslim minority and dealing with homegrown militants inspired by the Islamic State. The outdoor market in Strasbourg, centered on a towering Christmas tree in Place Kleber, draws more than 2 million visitors each year. The Strasbourg shooting was the latest in a succession of attacks linked to Islamist militancy in France going back to 2012. Since January 2015, more than 240 people have been killed in attacks on French soil, most of them in 2015-16.

Source: Washington Post December 14, 2018 21:00 UTC