A Franco-Algerian man has been sentenced to five years in prison for vandalizing a memorial to the two young victims of a terror attack conducted by a Tunisian migrant in 2017.
The memorial, located at the St. Charles train station in Marseille, was attacked on Nov. 10, 2024, by the 43-year-old homeless man Maamar Ifrah. The man attacked the plaque commemorating the terror attack on Oct. 1, 2017, at the St. Charles train station, which saw Mauranne Harel and Laura Paumier stabbed to death by a Tunisian national. Ifrah tore the plaque off, burned the base supporting it, and ripped down the French flag. The event sparked outrage in Marseille.
The plaque was erected close to a larger memorial commemorating the armistice of the First World War.
Following his arrest just a few hours later, Ifrah told police, “I hate the French and France because they invaded my country.” He was born in Algiers in 1980 and obtained French citizenship in 1992, according to a report from French media outlet Valuers Actuelles.
In an interview with BFMTV, the mother of Laura Paumier, said the vandalized memorial “is a scandal, it’s a shock.”
Stèle vandalisée: "C'est un scandale, c'est un choc", déplore la mère de Laura Paumier, victime de l'attentat de la gare Saint-Charles pic.twitter.com/hZKprWhNWj
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) November 12, 2024Ifrah’s lawyer attempted to delay the trial with psychiatric and psychological assessments. Psychologists did not diagnose Ifrah with a mental illness, and he was deemed fit to stand trial, but they noted that the defendant “wants to go to a psychiatric hospital to get treatment.”
Ifrah said during his trial, “I don’t know what happened to me. I heard voices. I regret having done that and I apologize.” He said he was unaware “it was a plaque for the victims of attacks,” and added, “I had been sleeping outside for a long time. I heard voices, insults. I was afraid of sleeping outside.”
Police also found on his phone search history terms like “explosives,” “gay,” “Marseille,” and “Paris.”
“I typed in ‘explosive material’ to look, that’s all,” he said. “I’m not interested anymore. It’s not that I was interested, but I heard voices.”
FRANCE: The far left is attacking any memorial to 19-year-old Philippine, who was raped and murdered by an illegal migrant.
"No sooner had we finished (putting up posters to pay tribute to Philippine) when far-left militants were laughing and ripping them off." pic.twitter.com/GahOcOV4eD
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 2, 2024The jurors also noted that Maamar Ifrah had made numerous trips back and forth over three-day periods to Paris in the months leading up to the events but he said he was looking for work and not planning an attack.
The prosecutor demanded five years in prison “because she does not want Mr. Ifra to be outside with the acts he committed and the personality he has.”
The judge agreed and hit Ifrah with a five-year sentence, two years of which are suspended. He is also required to seek mental health treatment and pay a fine of €500.
🇫🇷‼️ In Paris, a far-left youth at the prestigious Sciences Po tore down posters paying tribute to 19-year-old Philippine, who was murdered by a Moroccan national under a deportation order.
He already raped another woman in 2019. pic.twitter.com/2FsfpEB94p
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) September 27, 2024
