Was there a systemic error? That's what the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) has argued since the terrorist knife attack that claimed the life of a French teacher, Dominique Bernard, on Friday October 13. The alleged perpetrator, Mohammed Mogouchkov, is a Russian Muslim extremist who, in 2014, had almost been sent back to Russia. Jordan Bardella (RN) denounced "flaws in the entire chain of responsibility," when the current government and officials from the 2014 French government have insisted that the law has been respected.
There are numerous exceptions to the French law on foreign nationals, which benefited the assailant, whose record was clean and whose surveillance had been unable to prove any terrorist intentions.
In 2008, Mogouchkov's family, originally from Ingushetia (a region in south-west Russia where Sunni Islam predominates), moved to France, to the village of La Guerche-de-Bretagne, south of Rennes, Britanny. He was 6 years old at the time. His father tried everything to gain refugee status, but to no avail.
In 2013, his final application for residency was rejected by the prefecture. The couple and their five children, including a baby, were then placed under house arrest in a shelter. On February 18, 2014, border police arrested the family and transferred them to Charles de Gaulle airport to be sent back to Russia. But their expulsion was canceled at the last minute.
At the time, the local press emphasized the efforts of associations supporting undocumented migrants. The decision was nevertheless taken by then-interior minister Manuel Valls' staff as he explained on Franceinfo public radio on October 15. His team "considered that the family, who had been there for more than five years, who had children in school from [early primary to middle school], met the criteria of what was called the Valls circular concerning undocumented migrants, the expulsion of children." This 2012 circular indeed provides for several situations in which it is suggested that the prefect show flexibility when faced with a request for regularization from an undocumented foreigner:
It was on the basis of this last criterion that the Mogouchkov family's deportation procedure was canceled. This required proof of "long-term settlement" of at least five years, barring exceptions, and that at least one of the children had been attending school "for at least three years" – conditions which the family met, the associations had argued, even though the prefecture had contested their school attendance record.
Mogouchkov turned 18 in 2021. However, article L631-3 of the Code of Entry and Residence of Foreigners and of the Right to Asylum (Ceseda) prohibits the deportation of a person who has settled in France before the age of 13, which was the case for Mogouchkov. Nevertheless, the law provides for exceptions, notably "behavior likely to jeopardize the fundamental interests of the state, or linked to activities of a terrorist nature." This is why former president François Hollande estimated, on October 16, that he "could have been expelled."
But these behaviors still need to be proven. In 2019, the suspected terrorist's brother, Movsar, was arrested by the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) on suspicion of disseminating jihadist propaganda for the Islamic State organization. In April 2023, he was sentenced to five years of unsuspended imprisonment.
Mogouchkov, meanwhile, was flagged by his high school for radicalization in 2020. Since 2023, he has been on the "S" watch list – the S standing for "security". French intelligence services were monitoring him for alleged links with activities threatening state security – in this case, Islamist terrorism – a type of watchlisting that is not based on a judicial decision, and is sometimes based on indirect evidence, such as acquaintance with a terrorist.
On October 16, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told a press conference that the assailant's criminal record was clean, that he had been monitored by the DGSI for less than three months, and that no evidence of a terrorist plot had been found. According to the interior ministry, French intelligence services were taken by surprise by "his sudden decision to act".
After the attack, Darmanin has announced his intention to step up deportations to Russia. "There are around sixty people on the "S" watch list of Russian nationality," he said on October 14. "Among them, there are obviously people from Chechnya. The instruction we had, until now, was the systematic expulsion of those people who can be particularly dangerous." The minister has advocated for a "systematic expulsion" of people identified as dangerous.
But French law prohibits the return of an individual to their country of origin if it can be determined "that their life or freedom is threatened there." Similarly, European law forbids deportations to countries that practice torture on political opponents or religious minorities.
Darmanin said he would not take these legal considerations into account, assuring listeners that sometimes "it's better to be condemned by the [European Convention on Human Rights] and protect the French". But it is still necessary for the country of origin to accept the return of these people.
In fact, to deport an undocumented immigrant from France who does not have a valid passport from his or her country of origin, it is necessary to obtain a "consular laissez-passer" (an exceptional travel permit), allowing the person to travel. But as the interior minister noted, "diplomatic relations (...) between Russia and France are extremely limited, not to say non-existent".
Finally, even with an agreement between Russia and France for the return of a Russian national, a final obstacle remains. The absence of a direct flight between the two countries makes deportation virtually impossible; the authorities would have to obtain transit visas through third countries for the deportee, as well as for his or her escort.
On October 11, the Paris Court of Appeal had to set a Russian national free, as the administration responsible for providing a flight had been unable to find a solution for reaching Russia, even with a layover.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.