A farewell interview with Ratson at the end of his diplomatic term in France quoted him mentioning the Toulouse and Montauban shootings on 19 March 2012, as a pivotal moment. Reportage by Times of Israel journalist Elhanan Miller from 30 May 2013, quotes Ratson saying that the assassination of three Jewish children and a parent at Ozar Hatorah school in Toulouse by the young French of Algerian origin Mohammed Merah, propelled him to focus his work on Interfaith dialogue, notably between the French Muslim community and Israel.