A homeless man who “defied” a war memorial by stepping over the guard rail to light a cigarette on the flame now faces deportation after turning a country against himself
A man who defiled a war memorial by lighting a cigarette on the eternal flame of France’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is facing deportation. The disrespectful act was caught on camera and has been spread across social media, where the man can be seen climbing over the barrier at the iconic Arc de Triomphe in Paris and lighting his cigarette on the flame.
The incident quickly caught attention across France, sparking outrage, with the public calling for the man to receive some punishment. Bruno Retailleau, France’s interior minister (equivalent to the UK Home Secretary), posted on X to call out the disgusting act: “This unworthy and deplorable act undermines the memory of those who died for France.”
While the French veterans minister hit out at the man, calling the act “not a mere misstep, but a desecration” Retailleau added: “France will never tolerate the tarnishing of the memory of those who died for her. Never.’ It comes after mindless yobs damage 41 cars in vandalism rampage through sleepy market town.
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After an investigation by the authorities, they found the suspect was a homeless man originally from Morocco named Hamdi H. As a result of his actions, he will have his residence permit revoked, leading to his deportation back to North Africa.
According to French newspaper Le Figaro, the man was arrested on Tuesday evening, and after initially denying the accusations, he soon admitted to being the man in the video. The official accusation is for “violating a burial site, tomb, cinerary urn, or monument erected in memory of the dead”, a crime that can carry up to a year in prison and a €15,000 fine.
They also report that the man is a repeat offender and well known to Parisian police, having 21 previous incidents on his record, including car theft, vandalism, and racial violence.
The Latvian tourists who filmed the video added: “He didn’t seem to be drunk or under the influence of drugs. On the contrary, he was clearly aware of what he was doing, and proud of having done it.”
The news came just weeks after an incident closer to home when a man wearing only a pair of shorts and a baseball cap climbed up Birmingham’s Hall of Memory – a monument in commemoration of people who died in WWI.
Once on the memorial, instead of listening to pleas to climb straight back down, the man brazenly said he would get down “when he was ready” seemingly ignoring the historic story behind the monument.
Thankfully, the man’s actions did not go so far as to damage the monument, which was built in 1925 in tribute to Birmingham citizens who died in the Great War.