Macron visits victims of Annecy stabbing attack

PARIS

French President Emmanuel Macron visited the French town of Annecy on Friday, a day after a man armed with a knife stabbed four children and two adults in the town.

A Syrian man attacked four preschool children and two adults with a knife on Thursday at a playground in a public park in Annecy. The children were aged between 22 and 36 months.

"Attacking children is the most barbaric one," said Macron during his address to the victims of the attack in the prefecture of Haute-Savoie.

"The meaning of my presence today is to bring the support of the entire nation to these children and their families," he added.

Macron and his wife, Brigitte, first arrived in the southeastern city of Grenoble to visit three children who were receiving medical treatment there.

Authorities said that one of the children has remained in a critical but stable condition. The fourth child victim is also under treatment at a hospital across the border in Geneva, Switzerland.

Later in the day, the couple traveled to Annecy to pay a visit to the man who sustained serious injuries during the attack and was receiving medical treatment in the Annecy hospital.

Authorities said the man not only received stab wounds but was also hit by a stray bullet fired by a policeman.

Macron also met with the man named Henri who is being hailed as “the backpack hero” by the French media for chasing the assailant.

The assailant, who was arrested after the attack, is still in police custody and is due to undergo a psychiatric examination, Franceinfo reported.

The suspect spoke the words "in the name of Jesus Christ" in English before attacking children in a playground, according to a video of the attack seen by Franceinfo.

Investigators are still trying to understand the motives behind the attack as the officials said there was no "apparent terrorist motive" in the attack.