“Nice: He enters the basilica, yells in Arabic, spits on the ground and threatens the sacristan,” translated from “Nice : Il pénètre dans la basilique, hurle en arabe, crache par terre et menace le sacristain,”
A 26-year-old man entered Notre-Dame Basilica in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) on Monday evening and threatened the sacristan, spitting on the ground and yelling words in Arabic. The accused, who is staying illegally in France, was arrested by the police shortly afterwards.
The tranquility of the Notre-Dame basilica in Nice was disturbed by a man around 6 p.m. Monday evening. He entered the building and began to scream in Arabic, says a source close to the investigation. He spat on the ground and then finally left. The man returned about ten minutes later. This time he was threatening.
“The sacristan who had been informed of the previous intrusion approached the suspect as he resumed screaming in Arabic and spitting on the ground. The man was threatening and it was decided to trigger the emergency call button,” said the same source. The police were therefore immediately alerted. Realizing that law enforcement had been notified of the situation, the suspect decided to flee. He had once again threatened the sacristan at this point by making gestures. The latter decided to follow the respondent in the street, keeping the police on the phone.
The suspect was alcoholic
The man was arrested by municipal police on Avenue Jean-Médecin, not far from the basilica. He did not object to his arrest and was taken into custody. The 26-year-old Tunisian national, who was staying illegally on French territory, had indeed consumed alcohol. He was previously unknown to the police. The sexton decided to lodge a complaint and an investigation was opened. The police station’s judicial support group (GAJ) was in charge of the investigations.
“Justice must be extremely severe”
“Thanks to the municipal police who, after activating an alert button, arrested an individual who spat, shouted in Arabic and threatened the sacristan of the Notre-Dame basilica,” wrote the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, on Twitter. “Justice must be extremely harsh as we soon commemorate the attack of October 29, 2020.”
“After hearing the plaintiffs and witnesses, no evidence in favor of an apology for terrorism or a threat was collected,” said Nice’s public prosecutor Xavier Bonhomme on Wednesday at Le Figaro. The respondent was reportedly interned at Saint-Marie Hospital.
A 27-year-old man was arrested last July after entering the same basilica. “I’m going to come back and I’ll kill you all,” he reportedly blurted out, before fleeing and being caught. File S, he had been taken into police custody and then detained until his trial.
Almost a year ago, on October 29, 2020, an attack claimed the lives of three people in the Basilica of Nice. The assailant was shot and arrested by police.