An Italian television journalist has filed a complaint after what she describes as a harrowing detention inside a halal butcher shop in Roubaix—a neighbourhood long cited as a hub of Islamist “separatism” in northern France.
Costanza Tosi, reporting for Rete 4’s programme Fuori dal Coro, had travelled to Roubaix last week to film a segment on the rise of radical Islam in France. According to the network, the crew chose Rue de Lannoy—already featured in a 2022 Zone Interdite investigation into Islamist influence—precisely because it symbolises the cultural shift underway in parts of the country.
What began as a simple question inside a butcher shop—whether the owner sold pork—quickly spiralled into what Tosi calls a “sequestration”. Using her phone and a hidden camera in her bag, she filmed the exchange until the shopkeeper realised he was being recorded. She says the man and his son then blocked the exit, refused to let her communicate with her colleague outside, and demanded her phone and passcode before she would be allowed to leave.
Hidden-camera footage captures one of the men saying, “I swear to God, I’m going to punch you,” as Tosi’s voice can be heard shaking with panic. She reports screaming, crying, and collapsing in distress as the men held her for more than an hour before finally releasing her—but only after deleting her videos.
The butcher, contacted by Le Figaro, insists no threats were made and says he only wanted to verify whether he had been filmed without consent. He claims he called the police several times but received no response, and that Tosi voluntarily handed over her phone.
Tosi flatly rejects this version. In her police complaint, seen by Le Figaro, she recounts being held against her will, repeatedly blocked from exiting, and warned by the butcher’s son that he would hit her if she tried to leave: “He was showing me his fist and threatening to hit me,” she told officers.
The episode comes amid deepening tensions in France over religious and cultural change. In four decades, the proportion of Muslims in the population has risen from 0.5% to 7%, while the share of Catholics has nearly halved. Younger Muslims in particular are significantly more observant than previous generations, with mosque attendance, Ramadan observance and hijab use all sharply increasing—trends that have fuelled anxieties about integration and parallel communities.
The Lille prosecutor’s office has not yet commented on the complaint or whether further action will be taken.
