The city of Marseille has just witnessed another knife crime: a Tunisian man who attacked and stabbed five people in a hotel in the city had to be shot dead by the police. Now Tunisia is accusing France of unlawfully killing the attacker and is demanding an inquiry.
The incident took place on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 2nd. The attacker, a Tunisian national with (allegedly) legal status in France, was evicted from the hotel for not paying his bills. He returned to the scene at around 3 p.m., went up to his former room and stabbed the person occupying the room, who is now in a “state of absolute emergency.” He then continued his murderous rampage by attacking the hotel manager, before continuing into the street and stabbing the manager’s son in the back. Armed with two knives and a baton, he then attacked customers at a nearby snack bar before a police patrol intervened and asked him to drop his weapons. When the man refused to comply, the police opened fire and killed him.
By sheer luck, none of the victims died, although some were seriously injured. Both the conduct of the police officers and of the Tunisian perpetrator are being investigated.
Since the incident, the attacker’s profile has become clearer, thanks in particular to the testimony in the media of his ex-wife, Sophie, who recounted his journey. While the press insists that the criminal, a certain Abdelkader D., was in France “legally,” Sophie pointed out that he had entered France illegally via Italy in 2018. He then reportedly spent time in a series of administrative detention centres. She describes him as a violent man and cocaine user. After he repeatedly abused her, she eventually left him.
Abdelkader D., who had a criminal record, had recently been summoned to court in a case of incitement to hatred after making antisemitic remarks in front of the mosque in Sète, near Montpellier. He had been assessed as not radicalised but in need of psychiatric follow-up because of his “unstable” condition. According to his ex-wife, he was a ‘moderate Muslim’… who had by the way attacked his nephew with a knife in March 2023 because he suspected him of being homosexual. In May 2025, he was sentenced to four years in prison, including one year without parole, which means he should never have been free on the streets of Marseille on September 2nd. But the judge did not issue a committal order against him, so he was roaming free in the city..
It is this man that Tunisia is now defending, arguing that the police action led to an “unjustified” murder.
The Tunisian foreign minister has conveyed his “strong protest” to the French representative in Tunis and demanded a swift investigation. Through him, the Tunisian government also pledged to defend the rights of the deceased and his family.
