the monument to the victims of the Saint-Charles train station attacks vandalized

While commemoration ceremonies are being organized throughout France this Monday, November 11, the monument honoring the memory of the victims of the attack that occurred at Saint-Charles station in Marseille in 2017 was defaced.

Travelers and other visitors discovered this Monday, November 11, with astonishment that the stele in memory of the victims of the knife attack that occurred at Saint-Charles station in Marseille in 2017 had been vandalized.

According to France Bleu Provence – which noted the damage on site – the commemorative plaque which read “In memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks” was removed. The French flag and the top of the plastic base were scratched and set on fire respectively.

In this wake, the Bouches-du-Rhône police prefect condemned “with the greatest firmness the act of vandalism of the commemorative plaque in tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks”, the authorities wrote on returned to the scene.

“An unacceptable desecration”

According to local media, the circumstances of the crime still remain unknown. This is why the Marseille public prosecutor's office opened an investigation for “deterioration by fire and theft by damage”. Images from surveillance cameras will soon be analyzed.

“An unacceptable desecration of the victims and our collective memory. This affront must be firmly condemned, and the perpetrators found and punished!” said Maxime Boudet, communications manager for the departmental office in Bouches-du-Rhône. The mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan also denounced “an act of cowardice”, announcing that “the services of the City of Marseille have mobilized to replace this memorial plaque as quickly as possible.”

“The perpetrators are actively sought and will have to answer for their actions,” insisted the prefect of the department on social networks.

As a reminder, this monument was installed after the death of two young women, Mauranne and her cousin Laura. The students were stabbed by Ahmed Hanachi, whose crime was claimed by Daesh in the hours that followed.