A man who lit a cigarette using the commemorative flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris has been sentenced to a three-month suspended prison term. This decision was made by a court in the French capital.
On Monday evening, Hakim H. used the flame at the war memorial to light his cigarette, a move that sparked widespread outrage across France.
The French Minister of the Interior described the act on X, as “unworthy and miserable.”
The 47-year-old Moroccan national was quickly tried for desecrating the monument. In court, he apologised to all French people for his actions.
Hakim admitted to his wrongdoing and called his action “the stupidity of the century.”
