On 23 March 2018, an
Islamic terrorist carried out three attacks in the town of
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department.
...
and the nearby village of
Trèbes in the
Aude
Aude ( ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it " ...
department in southwestern France, killing four people and injuring fifteen.
Redouane Lakdim, a 25-year-old
French Moroccan, first shot two men at the Aigles de la cité car park overlooking Carcassonne, killing one of them and seriously injuring the other. He then stole the car of the injured victim and drove into Carcassonne, where he opened fire on four police officers who were out jogging, seriously injuring one. He next drove to nearby Trèbes, where he attacked a
Super U supermarket, killing an employee and a customer, and taking a female employee hostage. A senior
gendarmerie
A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
officer, Lieutenant Colonel
Arnaud Beltrame, exchanged places with the hostage. During the three-hour stand-off, Lakdim swore allegiance to the
Islamic State
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
and demanded the release of
Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving suspect of the
November 2015 Paris attacks
A series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 21:16, three suicide bombers struck outside the Stade de France in Saint-De ...
. After Lakdim shot and fatally stabbed Beltrame, a
GIGN
The GIGN ( ; ) is the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (such ...
tactical unit carried out an assault, during which the terrorist was shot and killed.
Islamic State
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
(IS) claimed responsibility for the attack. Beltrame was hailed as a hero and given a state funeral. In January 2024, six men and a woman went on trial in Paris in connection with the attack.
Background
By March 2018, more than 240 people had been killed in Islamist terrorist attacks in France since the
Charlie Hebdo shooting
On 7 January 2015, at about 11:30 a.m. in Paris, Paris, France, the employees of the French satirical weekly magazine ''Charlie Hebdo'' were targeted in a terrorist shooting attack by two French-born Islam in Algeria, Algerian Muslim bro ...
in January 2015, and about 20,000 people were on a watchlist of possible extremists.
[ The ]January 2015 Île-de-France attacks
From 7 to 9 January 2015, terrorist attacks occurred across the Île-de-France region, particularly in Paris most prominently at the offices of the magazine Charlie Hebdo. Three attackers killed a total of 17 people in four shooting attacks, and ...
and November 2015 Paris attacks
A series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 21:16, three suicide bombers struck outside the Stade de France in Saint-De ...
killed a total of 157 people, almost all of them civilians. By 2018, France was the European nation most affected by terrorist attacks inspired or directed by IS. In 2017 the majority of attacks were directed at police and soldiers, rather than civilians.[
]
Redouane Lakdim
Lakdim was born in Morocco on 11 April 1992 and became a naturalized citizen
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
of France in 2004 when his father acquired French citizenship.[ By 2018, he was living in Ozanam, a housing estate in Carcassonne, with his parents and sisters.][
He was known to the police in Carcassone as a petty criminal and small-time drug dealer. In 2011 had been given a suspended prison sentence for possession of illegal weapons and in 2016 had served a month in prison for a drug offence and refusing to stop for a traffic control.][ He had been monitored by the French authorities as a potential security risk ( Fiche S) since 2014 but there had been no indication that he was about to commit an attack.][ His girlfriend, who was a convert to ]Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, was also known to French security services.[
]
Attacks and hostage taking
On 23 March 2018, Lakdim armed himself with a handgun and a hunting knife before taking his younger sister to school and making his way to the Aigles de la cité car park overlooking Carcassonne. The area was a meeting place for gay men and Lakdim's first attack was motivated by homophobia
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
. Arriving there at about 10:15 a.m., Lakdim first shot Renato Silva, a Portuguese citizen who was smoking a cigarette a little way from his car, and then shot and killed Jean Mazières, a retired wine grower, who was approaching them. He then drove off in Silva's Opel Corsa
The Opel Corsa is a supermini car manufactured and marketed by Opel since 1982 — as well as other brands, namely Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall, Chevrolet, and Holden.
At its height of popularity, the Corsa became the best-selling car in the ...
into Carcassonne where he opened fire on four policemen of the '' Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité'' who were out jogging and just returning to their barracks on avenue général Leclerc. One officer was seriously wounded. Lakdim next drove to Trèbes.[
Lakdim arrived at the Super U supermarket in Trèbes at about 10:40 a.m. Immediately upon entering the supermarket, he killed an employee, butcher Christian Medvès, and a customer, Hervé Sosna, a retired mason, shooting both men in the head at point blank range. As customers and staff fled, hid or lay on the ground, Lakdim threw a homemade grenade into the aisles; it did not explode. He then took a female employee, who was hiding in a storeroom behind the welcome desk, hostage and told her to phone the local police station. Lakdim told the police operator that he was a member of IS and wanted to take revenge on the French for bombing Syria and Iraq. He also demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in the ]November 2015 Paris attacks
A series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 21:16, three suicide bombers struck outside the Stade de France in Saint-De ...
[
Police and gendarmes soon arrived in force, cordoned off the area and helped to evacuate people from the supermarket.][ At about 11:30 a.m. a lieutenant colonel of the gendarmerie, Arnaud Beltrame, persuaded Lakdim to let him change places with the hostage.][ A ]GIGN
The GIGN ( ; ) is the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (such ...
unit assembled outside the supermarket and interior minister Gérard Collomb arrived on the scene. Police brought Lakdim's mother and two of his sisters to aid in negotiations with Lakdim.[ At about 2:30 p.m., the GIGN negotiator opened a conversation with Beltrame and Lakdim on the phone. Beltrame then attempted to disarm Lakdim, calling out "Assault! Assault!" to the negotiator, who did not distinguish the words and delayed the assault for some minutes while trying to re-establish contact with Beltrame. It was only when shots were heard that the GIGN unit stormed the storeroom and exchanged gunfire with Lakdim. During the exchange, Lakdim was killed and a gendarme was injured. Beltrame had been stabbed in the neck and shot by Lakdim.][ He was taken to hospital where he died of his injuries the following morning.][
The attacks resulted in five deaths, including Lakdim's, and injured 15 people.][
]
Aftermath
On being informed of the attack, President Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...
returned to Paris from Brussels. He said that the attack was undoubtedly an Islamist terrorist attack, although the claims of responsibility for the attack made by IS were still being investigated. He urged vigilance and asked the French people "to remember the force and resistance" they had shown whenever they had been attacked in the past.
Silva, the 26-year-old Portuguese national who had been shot in the head in the Aigles de la cité car park, spent two weeks in an induced coma in a neurological unit in Perpignan
Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...
l.[ Surgeons decided it was too dangerous to try and remove the bullet, which remained lodged in his brain. He lost an eye and was left deaf in one ear. It was only after more than five years and lengthy treatment from psychiatrists and psychologists that he was able to work again. Giving testimony at the trial in Paris, he described his job as a village postman as marking a new stage in his "second life".][
On the evening of the attack, Lakdim's girlfriend and another friend were arrested.][ Investigations later led to indictments against seven people in Lakdim's circle of family and friends for having supported him in various ways in relation to the attacks.][
On Sunday 25 March 2023, a memorial mass was held in the Church of Saint-Etienne in Trèbes. Those attending the service included members of the local Muslim community. The ]bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
of Narbonne and Carcassonne said that their presence "tells us that the creators of hatred will not win". After the service the local imam
Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
said that "Islam itself has been stabbed... by people who use symbols that are dear to our hearts".[
After the news of Beltrame's death was released early on 24 March 2023, gendarmerie stations flew their flags at half-mast.][ Beltrame was given a state funeral on 28 March 2023, a national day of mourning. Macron paid homage to the officer, saying he had the "gratitude, admiration and affection of the whole country".][
]
Reactions from world leaders
: Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
denounced the attack as "cowardly," and said the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
stood "in solidarity with our friends and allies in France, just as they always stand with us."
: Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
condemned the attack, sent condolences and said: "The civilized world must unite and work together in order to defeat terrorism". President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Reuven Rivlin also denounced the attack, saying: "The whole free world must stand united and firm against terror: in Jerusalem, in France, and across the world."
: Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
issued a statement of condemnation and solidarity against terrorism, and offered condolence on behalf of his citizens to victims' friends and families.
: President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
issued a statement on Twitter, condemning "the violent actions of the attacker and anyone who would provide him support." He continued, "we are with you @EmmanuelMacron!"
Trial
On 22 January 2023, seven people went on trial in Paris in connection with the attack. Five were accused of criminal terrorist conspiracy (), one was accused of a weapons offence (), while the seventh was accused of failure to denounce a crime () Two of the accused are detained, while five of them are on bail. The trial, expected to last five weeks, was held at the Palais de Justice in the courtroom that had been constructed for the Paris attacks trial, which was held in 2021–2022.[ The verdicts were announced on 23 February 2024. Only one defendant, Lakdim's girlfriend Marine Pequignot, was found guilty of criminal terrorist conspiracy. She received a five-year sentence. The remaining six defendants were found guilty of other crimes and sentenced to between twelve months and four years imprisonment.][
]
See also
* List of terrorist incidents in France § 21st century
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carcassonne and Trèbes attack
Aude
Crime in Occitania (administrative region)
GIGN missions
Hostage taking in France
ISIL terrorist incidents in France
Islamic terrorist incidents in 2018
March 2018 crimes in Europe
March 2018 in France
Mass murder in 2018
Terrorist incidents in France in 2018
Terrorist incidents in France involving knife attacks
2018 mass shootings in Europe
21st-century mass murder in France
Mass shootings in France