Holiday Ayo - At least nine pigs' heads were found outside several mosques in the Paris region on Tuesday (September 9), further fueling concerns over rising anti-Islamic hatred in the country.

Some of the pigs' heads were found with President Emmanuel Macron's surname written on them.

French law enforcement authorities are investigating the findings, with Paris Police Chief Laurent Nunez, as reported by AFP on Wednesday (September 10), calling such acts "reprehensible."

"Pigs' heads have been left in front of several mosques... Four in Paris and five in the suburbs," Nunez said at a press conference on Tuesday (September 9).

He added that police are not "ruling out the possibility of finding more" similar finds.

Paris police have opened an investigation into the pigs' heads found outside local mosques.

For now, Nunez said, the investigation is focused on allegations of incitement to hatred aggravated by racial or religious discrimination.

The Paris prosecutor's office told AFP that some of the pigs' heads found outside the mosque had Macron's surname written on them in blue ink.

Nunez said there may be similarities with past incidents linked to "foreign interference." But he also called for "extreme caution" in the investigation.

The discovery of the pigs' heads outside the mosque drew condemnation from political and public leaders in France.

Macron, according to the French presidential office, met with representatives of the Muslim community in Paris after the incident to express his "support."

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo condemned the act as "racist" and said the capital's authorities were taking legal action.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau called the act "outrageous" and "totally unacceptable."

The imam of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Chems-Eddine Hafiz, condemned what he called the "Islamophobic act" as "a new and sad stage in the rise of anti-Muslim hatred."