Mall prayer and DNA lead French police to soldier attack suspect



PARIS // Traces of DNA on an orange juice bottle and a surveillance video of a man praying in a mall led to the arrest yesterday of a man accused of stabbing a French soldier while he was patrolling a crowded area outside of Paris.

The attack came days after a British soldier was killed on a London street in broad daylight, raising fears of potential copycat attacks.

France has been on a heightened security alert since January, when its military battled Islamist extremists in the African nation of Mali.

The stabbing suspect was caught on camera praying in a corner of a shopping mall on Saturday, 10 minutes before the soldier was attacked in the La Defense financial and shopping district, said Francois Molins, a French prosecutor.

The 22-year-old man, identified only by his first name, Alexandre, had bought the juice and the pocketknife used in the attack an hour beforehand, he added.

"The intent to kill is obvious," said Mr Molins. "The suspect doesn't hesitate to stab several times with impressive determination." The man was arrested outside Paris at the house of a friend who has not been implicated.

"The suspect implicitly confessed when he told police, 'I know why you're here'," said Mr Molins.

"The nature of the attack, the fact that it happened three days after the London attack, and a prayer that was said shortly before the attack make us believe that he acted in the name of his religious ideology and that his wish was to attack someone representing the state. "

The suspect, who was unemployed and homeless, was identified through DNA he left on the plastic juice bottle, said Christophe Crepin, a spokesman for the police union, UNSA.

Mr Molins said the man came under scrutiny after a street prayer in 2007, and authorities had his DNA profile on record after a series of petty crimes committed when he was a minor. He converted to radical Islam at around age 18, Mr Molins added. Under French antiterrorism laws, he can be held for 96 hours without charge.

The French soldier is recovering from his injuries and has been released from the hospital.

French security forces have been on heightened alert since the military intervened in Mali this year to regain territory seized by extremists. Yet even before this, French soldiers were considered possible targets at home by local radicals.

Last year, three paratroopers were killed by a man described as a French-born Islamist extremist.

Mohamed Merah went on to attack a Jewish school in southern France, killing a rabbi and three children in March last year, shortly before he was killed during a gun battle with police.

Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh12 million

Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16

Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto

Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm

Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds

Top speed 420 kph (governed)

Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”


View from London

Your weekly update from the UK and Europe

      By signing up, I agree to The National's privacy policy
      View from London