DR Congo-born man attacks French soldier in Paris for 'killing his countrymen', detained

A 40-year-old man was arrested Monday (Jul 15) by French authorities after he stabbed an on-duty soldier at the Gare de l’Est station in northern Paris. The attack came just two weeks ahead of the beginning of the Olympic Games in the capital city. The soldier suffered a knife wound between the shoulder blades and was out of danger, said Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on social media. The suspect has now been placed in psychiatric care, local media reported.

Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu paid tribute to the injured soldier, saying, “Thoughts to the soldier injured tonight at the Gare de l’Est” in a post on X.

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The soldier was part of a special military operation unit deployed around sensitive areas in Paris following the 2015 Islamist attacks on the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper.

Motivation for the attack

Public prosecutors are investigating the case as attempted murder as they seek to establish “the circumstances and the motivation”. The man, born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, became a French national in 2006, according to police sources.

According to one source quoted by news agencies, the man attacked the soldier as "the French military kills people in his country”. At the moment of the attack, he shouted ‘God is great’ in French, according to another source.

Suspect linked to a 2018 murder

The suspect was previously placed in psychiatric care in 2018 after his name emerged in a murder case. At that time, the man stabbed a 22-year-old to death at the Chatelet-les-Halles metro station in central Paris. But a court ruling, seen by news agency AFP, said he was never tried for the murder as he couldn't be held responsible due to diminished responsibility.

(With inputs from agencies)