Yvelines attack: gunman had list of left-wing personalities
Kévin Tessier, the author of the racist attack in October in the Yvelines, kept notes with names and numbers of four left-wing personalities. The counterterrorism prosecutor's office states it found no trace of a plan for violent action against these targets.
Investigation into the potential targets of the Yvelines gunman
According to Le Nouvel Obs, investigators discovered, during a search of Kévin Tessier's home, a handwritten list containing the names of two Green Party deputies, an elected representative of La France Insoumise and an anti-racism activist, accompanied by telephone numbers. The attack, which took place on 23 October in the Yvelines, killed one man and wounded seven others, including an eleven-year-old child.
The National Counterterrorism Prosecutor's Office (Pnat) clarified in a statement of 11 November that "no element" proved "the existence of a plan for violent action" against these personalities. The numbers collected existed "in open sources" and could "be attached to people with the same names", according to documents consulted by the AFP.
The suspect's explanations
During his questioning at the Counterterrorism Subdirectorate, Tessier told investigators: "I told myself it could perhaps be useful one day". He claimed not to have "yet planned anything" concerning these personalities. The 39-year-old man explained that he had compiled this list via a pirate website "where you can find all the data leaks of French people". He noted down the numbers "because they are leftists. Enemies of France", he clarified to investigators.
Racist motivations acknowledged
During four days of questioning at the Sdat, Tessier stated that he had "chosen the people [he] shot at based on their ethnicity or their religion". When asked about the reasons for this choice, he replied: "Because France is colonised by Islamists and Africans of all kinds". He invoked the violence and looting of 17 October, claiming that these were "carried out by foreigners who are destroying France".
The suspect also mentioned his attachment to the jihadist attacks of 13 November 2015 and 11 September 2001 as elements that had marked him. In custody, Tessier deemed French security policy to be "a total fiasco" and claimed to have "always been right-wing". He denied being a terrorist, saying he was acting "to free [his] country" and hoping to become an "example for the French".
Political reactions
Jean-Luc Mélenchon responded on Wednesday on X to the discovery of this list. "It seems the police have names of Insoumis members and Greens that the murderer of Trappes had prepared. We want to know who they are", wrote the Insoumis leader, adding that he had "never been warned during the two arrests or the two trials of people who had planned to [kill] me". Mélenchon had already been among the potential targets of the far-right group "OAS" (Organisation of Social Armies); its founder, Logan Nisin, was sentenced in 2021 to nine years in prison for terrorist criminal association.
Human toll and tributes
The fatality, Pengo Bossio Wangi, 26 years old, a promising young French mixed martial artist, was buried the following Saturday in Guyancourt, in the presence of hundreds of people. Seven other people were wounded during the murderous spree in Trappes and La Verrière, including an eleven-year-old girl. The Élysée has planned to pay a national tribute to the victims of this racist attack.
The suspect's two lawyers, Mes Baptiste Bellet and Eliott Amzallag, refused to make any comment.
Source: Le Nouvel Obs