The French Interior Ministry has acknowledged that a man suspected of stabbing three women in the Paris metro on Friday – and who was initially described as a Malian national ordered to leave France – in fact holds French citizenship.
The 25-year-old man was arrested on Friday, suspected of stabbing three women in the Paris metro.
In a statement issued on Friday evening, the Interior Ministry said the alleged attacker was a Malian citizen imprisoned in January 2024 for aggravated theft and sexual assault.
He had been issued with an order (known as a OQTF) to leave France after being released in July.
The man had been placed in an administrative detention centre but failure to obtain a consular travel document required for his deportation had meant he was released after 90 days, as required by law, the statement said.
Legal resident
However, investigators since discovered that the suspect was in possession of a French passport, the Interior Ministry said on Monday, confirming reports by RTL radio.
The suspect obtained French nationality in 2018, a source close to the enquiry told French news agency AFP.
“At no point did he mention this nationality in the various proceedings he has faced over the past three years – trials, appearances before the judge for liberties and detention,” the ministry added.
“At this stage of the checks, there is nothing to call into question the fact that he is French,” the same source said, stressing that “the verifications are currently under way”.
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Mentally unstable
The suspect was released from custody on Saturday evening for psychiatric reasons, according to the Paris public prosecutor’s office, after his state of health was “considered incompatible” with police custody.
He was taken to a psychiatric hospital, prosecutors said.
The man is suspected of having lightly injured the three women on Friday afternoon on line 3 of the Paris metro before fleeing the scene.
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He was identified thanks to CCTV footage and later arrested in Val-d’Oise, north of Paris, using the geolocation of his mobile phone, the prosecutor’s office said.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez last week called for "maximum vigilance" during the festive season in a message to senior officials due to what he said was a "very high level of the terrorist threat" and "the risk of public disorder".
Nunez specifically asked for particular attention to be paid to security on public transport.
(with newswires)
