A Moroccan national who lit his cigarette with the flame of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier will be deported from Paris.
Footage circulating on social media shows the 47-year-old climbing over the chain barrier beneath the Arc de Triomphe and lighting a smoke.
The incident happened on Tuesday morning, sending shockwaves across France.
Bruno Retailleau, France’s interior minister, said on X: ‘This unworthy and deplorable act undermines the memory of those who died for France.’
Meanwhile, Patricia Miralles, the French minister for war veterans, said what happened is ‘not a mere misstep, but a desecration’.
She stressed: ‘France will never tolerate the tarnishing of the memory of those who died for her. Never.’
It was later revealed that the suspect – a homeless man from Morocco only identified as HamdiH. – will have his residence permit revoked, Le Figaro reported, citing a source close to the case.
He initially denied responsibility, before later admitting that he is the man in the video.
Police have accused him of ‘violating a burial site, tomb, cinerary urn, or monument erected in memory of the dead,’ an offense that theoretically carries a one-year prison sentence and a €15,000 fine.
Local media reported that the man is well known to the police and has 21 records in the criminal record processing file (TAJ), including car theft, vandalism, violence and public insults on grounds of race.
A woman, who claimed to be the author of the video, said the man did not ‘appear drunk or under the influence of drugs.’
She added: ‘On the contrary, he was clearly aware of what he was doing, and proud of having done it.’
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