Ce qu'il faut retenir de la conférence de presse du procureur de Marseille Nicolas Bessone : L'assaillant de l'attaque au couteau sur le cours Belsunce était connu pour des violences, l'usage de stupéfiants et des troubles psychiatriques.

The assailant who injured five people in a knife attack on Cours Belsunce was known for acts of violence, drug use, and psychiatric issues.

On Wednesday, September 3, the prosecutor of Marseille spoke out after the knife attack carried out by a 35-year-old man on Tuesday, September 2, around 3:00 PM on Cours Belsunce in the city center of Marseille. Here’s what you need to know from his press conference, as five people were injured and the assailant is deceased.

The assailant was known for domestic violence

The prosecutor explains that the assailant arrived in France in 2019, in the Charente-Maritime department, got married in 2020, before his ex-partner left him because of his violence and addiction to alcohol and cocaine.

According to Nicolas Bessone, the man was first convicted on May 6, 2025, by the court of La Rochelle, for assaulting his nephew with a weapon in 2023. He received a sentence of four years in prison, three of which were suspended, and a request for psychiatric follow-up. He appealed the court decision and remained free pending a new hearing.

The individual suffered from mental disorders and was wandering

After La Rochelle, Abdelkader D. went to Montpellier, then to Sète. He was arrested on June 30, 2025, this time for making anti-Semitic remarks outside a mosque in the city, and an investigation was opened for incitement to hatred based on origin or religion.

On this occasion, his profile was monitored by the Intelligence Service, which did not see signs of radicalization but noted his concerning mental health status, as he had been suffering from mental disorders and was wandering since the end of 2024.

A dispute with his roommate

According to Nicolas Bessone, the assailant stayed at the hotel on Cours Belsunce from August 22, 2025. Housed in a room, he had an argument with his roommate to the point where the hotel manager had to move Abdelkader D. to another room. On August 29, 2025, the hotel receptionist ordered him to leave because he had not paid for his room.

Abdelkader D. returned on September 2, around 2:30 PM. He went to his former room, stabbed his former roommate in the heart, who is still hospitalized but now out of danger. The assailant then attacked the receptionist, who was also hospitalized but less severely injured, and then the son of the hotel manager, alerted by the screams in the hotel.

Violence without specific targets

The assailant tried to disembowel the snack bar owner

Nicolas Bessone, prosecutor of Marseille

Pursued by three friends of the hotel manager’s son, he struck one of them with an iron bar before fleeing. In the street, he punched a passerby, then went to a restaurant on Cours Belsunce and tried to «disembowel» the owner, shouting «Allahu akbar, I want to die too«. The restaurant owner talked to him and managed to calm him down before the assailant fled again, while several people tried to throw chairs and projectiles at him to disarm him.

He then encountered a police patrol, alerted by the crowd’s screams. Refusing to surrender, he stepped back, then took a step forward towards the officers, shouting «Allahu akbar» again. The officers fired five times, and one of them used a Taser. Abdelkader D. was fatally wounded, despite the intervention of paramedics who tried to resuscitate him for 30 minutes. Selon Nicolas Bessone, si la procédure n’est pas encore terminée, il est probable que le motif de légitime défense soit retenu pour les agents. Selon Nicolas Bessone, si la procédure n’est pas encore terminée, il est probable que le motif de légitime défense soit retenu pour les agents impliqués.

Lors de l’attaque au couteau sur le cours Belsunce à Marseille, l’assaillant, un homme de 35 ans, avait blessé cinq personnes. Ce dernier était connu pour des antécédents de violences, de consommation de stupéfiants et de troubles psychiatriques.

Le procureur de la République de Marseille a révélé que l’assaillant était arrivé en France en 2019. Après des violences intra-familiales, des condamnations pour des agressions avec armes, et des signalements pour des propos antisémites, il était en proie à des troubles mentaux et errait depuis fin 2024.

Le jour de l’attaque, l’assaillant s’était disputé avec son colocataire dans un hôtel du cours Belsunce. Après avoir poignardé plusieurs personnes, il a tenté d’attaquer un restaurateur, criant des slogans religieux. Lorsqu’il a rencontré une patrouille de police, il a refusé de se rendre et a avancé vers les agents en criant à nouveau des slogans religieux, ce qui a conduit à des tirs de la part des policiers.

Dans l contexte actuel, il est très probable que les agents impliqués bénéficieront de la légitime défense, compte tenu du comportement agressif et des actions violentes de l’assaillant.

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