After carrying out an operation to place five coffins accompanied by inscriptions on “French soldiers of Ukraine” at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, three suspects were questioned by the authorities this Monday. At least one of them is linked to the so-called “red hands” affair of the Shoah Memorial, giving depth to the specter of foreign interference.
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The three men suspected of having placed coffins on Saturday at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris were presented this Monday, June 3 to an investigating judge with a view to their indictment. At least one of them, the driver of the operation, has a link with a protagonist in a previous case of foreign interference: that of the ” red hands » tagged on the Shoah Memorial.
According to information from World, the three suspects would even be linked to this previous case. The public prosecutor’s office requested the indictment of the three suspects for “premeditated violence”, said the Paris prosecutor’s office. The three men are the driver of the vehicle which transported the coffins, of Bulgarian nationality and aged 38, and two other men, one aged 25, born in Germany, the other, aged 17, born in Ukraine.
The incident echoes two other cases
As a reminder, around 9 a.m. Saturday (7 a.m. UT), on Quai Branly, these three people filed “ five real-size coffins covered with a French flag, with mention ‘French soldiers from Ukraine‘”, indicated a source close to the matter. The coffins contained plaster “, she added. The driver of the van was then arrested near the Eiffel Tower, according to this source. The other two were arrested while trying to flee to Germany by bus.
The exploitation of the driver’s telephone demonstrated a link with a man, also of Bulgarian nationality and who had been ” identified » by investigators in the tag affair « red hands » on the Shoah Memorial in mid-May, said a police source. This incident echoes two recent cases where the same suspicions of foreign manipulation exist.
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The first, that dating from the night of May 13 to 14, during which red hands were sprayed on the Holocaust memorial in Paris. The police suspect three people who fled abroad. The second, dating from October, after the start of the Israel-Hamas war: Stars of David had been sprayed on several building facades in the Paris region. The facts, for which a Moldovan couple was arrested, were attributed by the French authorities to the Russian security services (FSB).
In both cases, these are “ sponsors paid to destabilize and press on the divisions in French society », Estimated the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, in mid-May.
Paid 400 euros
When heard, the driver told the police that he did not know the two young people who unloaded the coffins. He said he met them “ the day before with the coffins and asked them to open them to ensure that no bodies were present », Detailed a police source. The two youngest declared that they had “ met once in Berlin but came separately to France », added this source.
All three said: being unemployed and needing money », Said the police source. The driver said, “ having been paid 120 euros for this mission and the young people 400 euros “. The investigations were entrusted to the Paris Territorial Security. The investigation must establish “ possible foreign interference “, the source close to the matter said on Sunday.
The deposit of the five coffins is “ considered an act of psychological violence, not having caused incapacity for work », Specified the Paris prosecutor’s office. This offense is punishable by up to 3 years of imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros.