A man has been arrested after lighting a cigarette from the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris, a sacred site dedicated to fallen soldiers.
The shocking act, which took place under the Arc de Triomphe, sparked outrage after video of the moment surfaced online.
The clip shows a man bending down to the flame, lighting his cigarette, then walking off as stunned tourists looked on.
French authorities confirmed on Tuesday that the suspect was taken into custody after admitting to the offence.
Bruno Retailleau, France’s Interior Minister, wrote on X: ‘The man who desecrated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by lighting a cigarette with the memorial flame was arrested in Paris for violating a burial site, tomb, urn, or monument erected in memory of the dead. He was taken into custody and admitted the facts.’
The incident happened on Monday evening, according to police, and the arrest was made the following afternoon.
The suspect has been named in French media as Hamdi H., a 47-year-old legal resident of the country and is said to be homeless.
His residency is said to expire in October this year. However, Le Parisien reports that his right to live in France could now be revoked under French laws.
Patricia Miralles, Minister for Veterans and Remembrance, was among those who condemned the man’s behaviour. She said: ‘You cannot ridicule French remembrance and get away with it.’
She added: ‘This flame does not light a cigarette, it burns for the sacrifice of millions of our soldiers. This is an insult to our dead, to our history and to our nation.’
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier sits beneath the Arc de Triomphe at the top of the famous Champs-Élysées.
It contains the remains of an unidentified French soldier who died during World War I and stands as a symbol of national mourning and respect for all French troops who have died in combat.
The flame, which burns continuously, is meant to honour the memory of the fallen and is rekindled every evening in a solemn ceremony.
French newspaper Le Figaro reported that the video was filmed by a Latvian tourist on August 4 and first shared on TikTok.
The tourist told the paper the man did not appear drunk and seemed fully aware of what he was doing.
AFP said it could not independently verify who originally filmed the video.
Police say the man could face charges for violating a memorial site, a crime under French laws.
French news outlets say the man is already known to cops and the courts and remains in police custody.
If found guilty, he could be fined up to €15,000 and sentenced to one year in prison.
The video’s circulation has reignited debate in France about respect for national symbols and the treatment of historic sites.
