A restaurateur in a Paris suburb eatery who refused to serve two Muslim women sparked protests by angry men and women. The incident took place at Le Cenacle restaurant in Tremblay-en-France on Saturday night.
In a video, which was widely circulated on social media, the owner of the eatery told the headscarf-wearing women, "terrorists are Muslims and all Muslims are terrorists. The incident says it all, analyze it," AlJazeera reported.
On the following day (Sunday), the man apologised to a group of young people and members of the local Muslim community, who had gathered outside the Le Cenacle.
In his defence, the man said that the situation had "gone out of hand" following the recent tensions in the country over the issue of wearing burkinis, and also because, he lost a friend at Bataclan concert attack last November (during the terror attacks in France), BBC reported.
The local prosecutors' office has reportedly initiated an investigation into the racial discrimination incident.
In the video, which was filmed secretly by one of the two women, the man can be heard calling all Muslims as terrorists, BBC reported.
"We do not want to be served by racists," one of the women said, "The man responded back saying: "Racists don't kill people." He further added, "I don't want people like you at my place. Full stop."
An Anti-Islamophobia organisation CCIF issued a statement, in which the organisation had said: "Following the umpteenth Islamophobia incident, which led to the humiliation of two young Muslim women, its director would be speaking outside the local mosque on Sunday evening."
The organisation will also be providing legal and psychological support to the two women.
The incident follows the debates in recent months over integrating Muslims into the French society. Some French towns have taken a decision to ban full-body swimsuit (also known as Burkini) worn by Muslim women. This has led to outrage, Al Jazeera added.
France has also seen a rise in right-wing opinions against Muslims as refugees from Middle-Eastern countries seek asylum in it. The refugee crisis, which is affecting the whole of Europe, is the result of the world's largest migration since World War II.
Watch the video of incident that took place at the restaurant on Saturday night:
