The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed to AFP that a suspect had been “identified and arrested today in the canton of Geneva”.
“An extradition request will be sent to the Swiss authorities,” he added.
The Geneva police had not yet responded to AFP’s requests by evening.
According to the prosecution, the suspect, “in an irregular situation on French territory, was convicted in October 2021 for rape committed in 2019 (when he was a minor)”. He was “released, at the end of his sentence, in June 2024”.
The victim, named Philippine and aged 19, was a student at the University of Paris-Dauphine.
His body was found buried in the Bois de Boulogne, located in the west of Paris, during a search on Saturday afternoon.
It was her family who reported her missing. The student was last seen at the university on Friday at lunchtime.
This Tuesday at the end of the day, only a few joggers or cyclists were on site, 500 meters from the University of Paris Dauphine, after a bridge which spans the ring road, noted an AFP journalist.
Annie (not her real name), who lives nearby, came to see where Philippine’s body was found. “It’s been a while since I’ve been here, and I wanted to see where it happened. But you definitely shouldn’t come here alone,” she said.
According to a police source, witnesses reported seeing a man with a pickaxe in the area.
The investigation, opened for voluntary homicide, has been entrusted to the criminal brigade of the Paris judicial police.
Body of student found buried in Bois de Boulogne, west of Paris
Reactions to the far right
According to the source close to the case, the suspect was released from detention on June 20 and was placed in an administrative detention center (CRA) in Metz.
On September 3, a judge of liberties and detention had validated his release from the detention center. A measure accompanied by an obligation to check in. On September 4, Morocco had “sent the expulsion authorization” to the French authorities, according to this source.
The day before the murder, on September 19, the suspect had been placed on the wanted persons file because he had not complied with his obligation to report, according to the same source.
The far right immediately stepped up to the plate.
“Philippine’s life was stolen from her by a Moroccan migrant under an OQTF,” reacted the president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, on X.
“It is time for this government to act: our compatriots are angry and will not mince words,” he added.
France’s rate of execution of removal measures (OQTF) is the lowest in the European Union: around 7% compared to almost 30% at EU level.
“Too many OQTFs are being issued by the authorities: we are seeing an increase in the number of removal measures against people who we know from the outset cannot be returned to a country of origin or transit,” according to Marie-Laure Basilien-Gainche, professor of public law at Lyon III University.
