Latest news with #HakimH.
Local France
2 days ago
- Local France
Man who lit cigarette at Paris flame memorial given suspended sentence
The man, whose name was given as Hakim H., was found guilty of desecrating the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by a Paris criminal court. "I deeply regret this, I apologise to all French people," the 47-year-old construction worker said, before bursting into tears in the dock during the expedited trial. The man, who lives in Normandy and sleeps at his workplace in Paris during the week, admitted the charges against him, calling his action "the stupidity of the century." The Moroccan citizen who holds French residency papers said he had acted under the influence of alcohol and medicines. He was also fined a symbolic euro and ordered to seek treatment for alcohol and drug addictions. Advertisement The video of a man stooping and lighting up from the fire at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe, before walking calmly away watched by tourists, caused indignation when it was widely shared on social media. The incident happened on Monday evening and the man was arrested on Tuesday afternoon, police told AFP. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has stood under the Arc of Triumph since 1920 to commemorate the country's dead from World War I.
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- RTÉ News
Man who lit cigarette at Paris flame memorial given suspended sentence
A man who was caught on video lighting a cigarette from a memorial flame at a major Paris war monument was handed a three-month suspended sentence. The man, whose name was given as Hakim H., was found guilty of desecrating the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by a Paris criminal court. "I deeply regret this, I apologise to all French people," the 47-year-old construction worker said, before bursting into tears in the dock during the expedited trial. The man, who lives in Normandy and sleeps at his workplace in Paris during the week, admitted the charges against him, calling his action "the stupidity of the century." The Moroccan citizen who holds French residency papers said he had acted under the influence of alcohol and medicines. He was also fined a symbolic euro and ordered to seek treatment for alcohol and drug addictions. The video of a man stooping and lighting up from the fire at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe, before walking calmly away watched by tourists, caused indignation when it was widely shared on social media. The incident happened on Monday evening and the man was arrested on Tuesday afternoon, police told AFP. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has stood under the Arc of Triumph since 1920 to commemorate the country's dead from World War I.
Roya News
3 days ago
- Roya News
Man sentenced for lighting cigarette at Paris war memorial
A man caught on video lighting a cigarette from the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris has been sentenced to a three-month suspended jail term by a Paris criminal court. Hakim H., a 47-year-old construction worker, was found guilty of desecrating the solemn monument, which honors France's fallen soldiers from World War I. Speaking in court, the man expressed deep remorse, saying, "I deeply regret this, I apologise to all French people," before breaking down in tears during the expedited trial. Living in Normandy but staying overnight at his Paris workplace during the week, Hakim admitted to the charges and described his actions as "the stupidity of the century." He explained that he had been under the influence of alcohol and medication at the time. In addition to the suspended sentence, he was fined a symbolic one euro and ordered to seek treatment for alcohol and drug addiction. The incident, which took place on Monday evening, was widely condemned after a video circulated on social media showing Hakim stooping to light a cigarette from the flame beneath the Arc de Triomphe, then calmly walking away as tourists looked on. He was arrested the following afternoon.
