For years, travellers passing through Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport encountered a man who seemed to belong to the terminal as much as the passengers, flight boards and waiting areas around him. Mehran Karimi Nasseri lived in the airport for nearly 18 years, turning a small space near Terminal 2F into a place of routine, reflection and survival. His unusual circumstances began with a complicated immigration ordeal that left him unable to move freely between countries. Although Nasseri eventually left the terminal, his connection with the airport never fully disappeared. Decades later, the place that had once trapped him became the location where his extraordinary journey came to an end, leaving behind a story that captured global attention and inspired books, documentaries and even a Hollywood film loosely based on his life.
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