A 90-year-old woman was raped in her home in Nice last week after opening the door to a man she believed was her nurse, with prosecutors later confirming that the suspect was living illegally in France despite being under a deportation order.
The alleged attacker, a 29-year-old Tunisian national, was arrested and placed in police custody before being formally charged with rape of a vulnerable person and remanded in pre-trial detention, according to the Nice public prosecutor.
The attack took place in the early hours of Friday morning in the Madeleine district of the southern French city. Prosecutors say the victim opened her apartment door between 4 and 5 a.m., believing her nurse had arrived, before being pushed inside by a man who then sexually assaulted her.
The woman was later taken to hospital with injuries to her legs, arms, and face. Police were alerted by the victim’s daughter shortly after 6 a.m., after she managed to call for help. Officers who attended the scene reported visible signs of violence.
Acting on the victim’s description, police searched the building and discovered a squat on the fourth floor occupied by several men. The suspect was formally identified by the victim and arrested at the scene.
French media report that the suspect admitted entering the woman’s apartment but denied rape. At the time of the arrest, he tested positive for cocaine and cannabis. Prosecutors said he had no prior convictions in France but confirmed that he was subject to an OQTF (Obligation de Quitter le Territoire Français)—a deportation order—that had not been enforced.
Three other men found in the squat were also arrested and identified as being under deportation orders.
Nice mayor Christian Estrosi condemned the attack as an “act of absolute barbarism” and called for the suspect to be punished with the utmost severity.
Claire Géronimi, vice president of the right-wing Union des droites pour la République Party, wrote on X: “Once again, the perpetrator of the atrocious rape of a 90-year-old woman was under an OQTF.”
Identité-Libertés leader Marion Maréchal criticised the lack of media attention, writing “While we’re talking about the incident that happened in Minneapolis, we’re not talking about Nice, where, three days ago, a 90-year-old French woman was raped by an illegal immigrant under OQTF.”
The Nice attack has added to growing scrutiny of France’s deportation system. In October, a 36-year-old woman was sexually assaulted at a train station in Montpellier while trying to defend two teenage girls from an attacker. Reports indicate that the suspect in that case was also in France illegally despite being subject to a deportation order linked to a previous sexual assault charge.
