Man to face trial for attempted murder of British child in Alps park attack

A man accused of attacking 13 people, including a British three-year-old and three other children, with a knife at a playground in the French Alps will go on trial charged with attempted murder, prosecutors have said.

Abdalmasih Hanoun is also charged with armed resistance after the attack at a park in Le Paquier, southeast France, in June 2023.

In addition to the four children, who were aged between 22 months and three years, two adults were wounded in the attack.

The three-year-old British child was visiting the area with her parents. She suffered a single stab wound, French prosecutors said, but was later confirmed to be in a stable condition.

Hanoun will face trial at Haute-Savoie Assize Court in Annecy within the next year, the French public prosecutor's office said on Wednesday.

The prosecutor's statement said: "The defendant will have to answer charges of attempted murder in respect of 13 victims, violence with a weapon without total work incapacity in respect of two victims, and armed resistance."

It added that the defendant's mental state had been assessed by a panel of experts, who found he had not been "suffering from a psychological or neuropsychological disorder" at the time of the attack.

This means there could be "no grounds justifying the decision not to indict Mr Abdalmasih Hanoun".

The statement also said that the decision to order a trial to proceed could be subject to appeal.

Shortly after the attack on 8 June 2023, officials confirmed that the four young victims were in stable condition, including the British toddler.

One of the children was a Dutch national and the other two were confirmed to be French nationals from the eastern region of Haute-Savoie.

Two adults were also hurt in the attack, but were later said to be out of danger.