Nine dead, sixteen injured: An armed assassin randomly shot passers-by at Krakow's main market last Saturday. There was also a racist attack near Paris at the end of October. Both cases occur in the context of growing right-wing ideologies.

In Poland's second largest city, Krakow, there is a...difficult armed attackerLast Saturday, six people were shot dead and 16 others were injured. 24-year-old Michał O. drove a car to the historic main market and opened fire on passers-by from the vehicle. According to current findings, the attacker shot indiscriminately at people he met on the main market.

However, the investigation is not limited to the crime in Krakow. Authorities found the bodies of his parents and sister in the man's apartment in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. They are also said to have been shot by him.

The shooter was only stopped when the police intervened. An officer was seriously injured in an exchange of fire and died in hospital on Monday morning. The attacker is currently in critical condition.

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Evidence of fascist radicalization

Investigators discovered additional weapons and ammunition in his car, which belonged to his father. The man is said to have had no previous criminal record and apparently had a license to own a firearm. PossibleaccomplicesThe Polish police are currently ruling it out. The perpetrator's political views are now becoming the focus of the investigation.

Shortly after the crime, Poland's Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński reported that the attacker had a fascination with "extreme right wing"Ideologies, however, emphasized that we would have to wait and see what developments happen. There are now moreEvidence of a fascist attitudeof the perpetrator. According to Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek, investigators found visits to websites about the Norwegian right-wing terrorist Anders Behring Breivik on the perpetrator's computer.

On July 22, 2011, Breivik first killed eight people in a bomb attack in the government district of Oslo and then shot 69 more people on the island of Utøya. His act was particularly directed against the social democratic youth movement and was characterized by a fascist, racist and Islamophobic worldview.

A so-called Gadsden flag with a rattlesnake on a yellow background was also found near the Krakow perpetrator. The symbol, which originally came from the American Revolutionary War, is now used primarily by libertarian and right-wing movements.

Accordingly, investigators now declare that there are “very solid indications” that the attacker was right-wing radicalized, but that we will have to wait for the full developments. The public prosecutor's office meanwhile speaks of a “terrorist character” of the crime.

A breeding ground for right-wing ideologies

The tragedy not only shocked the entire country, but also appears to be a reflection of the political escalations of recent years. The indications of possible right-wing extremist radicalization fall into a social situation in which nationalist and extreme right-wing forces have been gaining influence in Poland for years.

The political landscape is highly polarized. In particular, the years in power of the right-wing PiS party have intensified social conflicts surrounding migration, religion, national identity and minorities. At the same time, fascist parties and movements such as Konfederacja were able to expand their political presence.

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Racist attack near Paris

The fact that right-wing ideologies are increasingly turning into deadly violence is not only evident in Poland. It wasn't until October 23rd that it came to the French suburbsTrappesto a racist attack. The 39-year-old perpetrator shot 26-year-old Pengo Bossio Wangi and seriously injured five other people, including a twelve-year-old girl.

According to your ownDeclarationsHe wanted to take revenge for the protests and riots on October 17th and targeted blacks and Arabs. Investigators also found a copy of Adolf Hitler's “Mein Kampf” in his apartment. Nevertheless, the attacker denies a racist motive. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron described the act as a racist terrorist attack.

In this case, too, connections to the spread of fascist ideology become clear. Explained like thisAli Rabeh, the mayor of Trappes about the head of the fascist party Rassemblement National: "Jordan Bardella has repeated ad nauseam, and I quote: 'Trappes is no longer France'. He has called the city an 'Islamist republic in miniature' or said that Trappes is 'Kabul 30 minutes from Paris'. This man and his party have made the entire population of Trappes a target."

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