The murder took place on Saturday evening, around 6 p.m. Matisse was stabbed several times in the chest on a public road in Châteauroux. Although emergency services tried to save him, the boy succumbed to his injuries that same evening. A criminal investigation has been opened into the murder.
The suspect is an Afghan teenager (15). He is already known to the police for two criminal cases in 2024, including for theft with violence. He was under judicial supervision, but was released under certain conditions. He wasn’t in jail.
Altercation and collision
The suspect has now been taken into custody and interrogated, reports said Le Parisien. According to his own account, he was hit by Matisse during an altercation. “He explained that, overcome with anger, he went to his building to get a knife, and stabbed the victim several times before fleeing,” the prosecutor said.
The mother (37) of the suspect, without a criminal record, has also been arrested “on the basis of plausible reasons to suspect participation”, according to BFMTV. According to police, she allegedly punched Matisse several times after he had already been stabbed. She is therefore suspected of intentional violence against a vulnerable person.
According to the initial findings of the investigation, the suspect may have acted out of revenge after Matisse insulted and hit him because of his Afghan origins. Several testimonies in the investigation also confirm that Matisse punched the suspect in the face.
“My brother couldn’t stand being hit by Matisse. His nose was bleeding and it was driving him crazy,” the suspect’s brother tells Le Parisien.
Wild reactions
Several right-wing opinion makers have responded to the tragic death of the teenager Matisse. They link the murder to broader migration issues in France.
For example, Jordan Bardella, leader of the Rassemblement National in the European elections, claims that French youth are victims of a migration policy that he considers out of hand and nonsensical. In a video on social media, he expresses concerns about safety and freedoms in the face of what he considers “predators.”
Éric Zemmour, founder of Reconquête!, calls the incident a “francocide”, i.e. murder of French people. Bruno Retailleau, president of the Senators of Les Républicains, also points out the shortcomings of the system, emphasizing that the suspect had already been under judicial supervision a week earlier.
Other right-wing figures are calling for criminal justice reform and stricter immigration laws. For example, Agnès Evren, senator of Les Républicains, finds it “incomprehensible” that the suspect was recently released. And Éric Ciotti, president of Les Républicains, advocates a policy of “imprisonment and deportation”.
Next Saturday, May 4, a silent procession will take place for Matisse.
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