Thirty people were victims of the racist attack in Trappes on October 23, according to Olivier Christen, France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor. The attack left one person dead and seven injured, including four people seriously hurt. Christen told RTL on Tuesday that the other 22 people were not physically injured, but were either targeted without being hit or had their vehicles struck by bullets, causing psychological distress.
Christen said the suspect, Kevin T., had prepared and planned the attack, probably since late summer or early September. He described the targets as carefully chosen and said the suspect showed relative composure. However, investigators found no indication that Kevin T. intended to die during the attack; he surrendered to police calmly, the prosecutor said. Kevin T. was charged on October 29.
The prosecutor also addressed images published by Mediapart that reportedly show Kevin T. practising with a shotgun at a site in Saint-Cyr in 2015. Christen said he had no evidence that the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office had overlooked warning signs, adding that membership in a sports club or participation in clay-pigeon shooting was not, by itself, enough to identify someone as a threat. The firearm identified at the suspect’s home had been acquired illegally, he said.
Investigators found 30 stickers reading “Long live France, RN, proud to be French” at the suspect’s home, along with other explicit material. Christen said Kevin T. claimed not to support or have joined any political party. The suspect had also been photographed at a pro-Palestinian gathering in 2018; according to Christen, he said he had gone there to “infiltrate the leftists.”
Christen described the relevant category as the “radical and violent far right,” distinguishing political supporters from people who become radicalised and come to see violence against others as the only way to advance their ideology.
The prosecutor said the number of cases involving the far right had risen in recent years: from one or two a year six or seven years ago to six in 2025 and six so far in 2026. Since the prosecutor’s office was established in July 2019, it has opened 23 such cases, compared with seven concerning the far left and 481 involving jihadism, out of 681 cases overall.
Christen said investigators had detected no specific targeting of France’s 2027 presidential election. He warned, however, that the political climate was creating tension that could lead some people to believe it was the right moment to act, and said authorities had been concerned about the situation for several years.
Sources: Le Monde Politique.