An illegal migrant, who despite 28 criminal convictions was never deported from France, has been convicted for beating a father and his godson after they refused to give him a soda while traveling on public transport in Le Mans.
Police say the 30-year-old suspect attacked the victims on Nov. 18 after the man and his godson refused to give him a soda. The defendant admits to being drunk at the time, and said: “I wanted to scare them.”
The police state the suspect beat the victims with his fists and strangled the minor, although the defendant disputes that he severely assaulted them, according to French publication Actu.fr.
Just four days before, the illegal migrant, who was also drunk at the time, attacked a security guard who had been protecting a housing association that had banned the migrant from entering the property.
The suspect, who was furious about the ban, threatened to kill the security guard with an axe. An hour later, he returned with two kitchen knives and attacked the security guard, who defended himself with a trash can.
Again, the defendant said in court that he “only wanted to scare him,” after the security guard testified against the suspect.
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Following the prosecutor’s recommendations, the court sentenced the suspect to 24 months in prison. It remains unclear which country the foreign national is originally from or whether the suspect will be deported after his sentence is served.
The migrant has an enormous criminal record, despite being in France illegally. He has, for example, been charged with beating a public official after his residence permit was withdrawn.
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“My residence permit was withdrawn from me, I wanted another one,” said the defendant.
He has 28 convictions, including many for violence, and the court recognized he has a problem with alcohol.
France has struggled to deport illegal immigrants, including those with serious criminal records. For example, the country has only managed to deport 0.2 percent of all Algerians who were ordered to be deported by a court. French President Emmanuel Macron said in 2020 that he was aiming for a 100 percent deportation rate, although that rate has remained below 15 percent.
