An Algerian woman under an order to leave French territory is standing trial in Nanterre for allegedly poisoning the food of a Jewish family who had employed her as a live-in nanny.
The case, described by investigators as without precedent in France, involves a couple and their three young children aged two, five, and seven.
As reported by Le Parisien, Leïla Y., 42, appeared before the Nanterre Criminal Court on Tuesday, accused of “administering a harmful substance resulting in incapacity exceeding eight days, committed on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality or religion.” Prosecutors say she used falsified documents, including a fake Belgian identity card, to obtain the job two months before the alleged events.
The investigation began after the mother of the family reported a series of alarming incidents in late January 2024. Dishes and drinks had unusual smells or tasted of cleaning products, and makeup remover had burned her eyes.
Suspecting foul play, the family reported the Algerian national to the police. Further allegations were made when the family’s 5-year-old told the authorities she had witnessed the nanny pouring a substance into a bottle of alcohol labelled “Jerusalem.”
Toxicology tests confirmed their suspicions, revealing significant traces of polyethylene glycol and other chemical agents in multiple food and drink items. The substances used were “harmful, even corrosive, and can cause serious injuries to the digestive tract,” according to the committal order.
In February, the nanny admitted in a police interview to adding a “soap-based lotion” to the family’s food and drink, describing it as a “punishment” following disputes over her pay. “I was angry; they were disrespecting me,” she added.
However, she also made remarks that suggested an anti-Semitic motive, saying she acted “because they have money and power, I should never have worked for a Jewish woman; she only brought me trouble.”
Her defense lawyer, Solange Marle, disputes the anti-Semitic motivation and says her client has since retracted parts of her confession. “The statements remain focused on a class issue and financial resentment,” she argued, noting that expert analysis did not establish an intent or attempt to kill, leading prosecutors to reduce the charge from attempted poisoning.
The defense also insists that toxic substances were found only in the parents’ drinks, not those of the children. A psychiatric assessment found the accused had no condition affecting legal responsibility and should therefore stand trial.
A security guard at the Jewish school attended by the children told investigators that the nanny frequently complained that the parents refused to pay her more. “Then she said the famous line to me: ‘But they have money, they can give it to me,”‘ he reported.
Analysis of her phone showed Google searches on the victims’ identities as well as terms such as “Berber Jewish women” and “religious practices of Judaism.” Her Facebook activity included several posts related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The children also told investigators the nanny often asked them questions about their religion. One child said she had seen the nanny repeatedly tamper with the family’s mezuzah, a small tube with a prayer inside and affixed to a home’s doorframe to signal it is a Jewish household.
Prosecutors initially pursued a charge of attempted poisoning, but later reclassified the offense after expert reports concluded the substances used were not capable of causing death, a requirement for that charge under French law.
