Man sentenced for lighting cigarette at Paris war memorial

A man caught on video lighting a cigarette from the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris has been sentenced to a three-month suspended jail term by a Paris criminal court.

Hakim H., a 47-year-old construction worker, was found guilty of desecrating the solemn monument, which honors France’s fallen soldiers from World War I.

Speaking in court, the man expressed deep remorse, saying, "I deeply regret this, I apologise to all French people," before breaking down in tears during the expedited trial.

Living in Normandy but staying overnight at his Paris workplace during the week, Hakim admitted to the charges and described his actions as "the stupidity of the century." He explained that he had been under the influence of alcohol and medication at the time.

In addition to the suspended sentence, he was fined a symbolic one euro and ordered to seek treatment for alcohol and drug addiction.

The incident, which took place on Monday evening, was widely condemned after a video circulated on social media showing Hakim stooping to light a cigarette from the flame beneath the Arc de Triomphe, then calmly walking away as tourists looked on. He was arrested the following afternoon.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, located beneath the iconic Arc de Triomphe, has commemorated France’s war dead since 1920 and holds deep symbolic significance for the nation.