Key facts
- France is honouring Father Jacques Hamel ten years after his assassination.
- Hamel, 86, was murdered by two terrorists who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.
- The priest was stabbed 18 times while celebrating mass in his church in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray.
- Commemorations include a mass presided over by Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline and a speech by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
- Former President François Hollande attended the events.
- Three individuals linked to the attackers received prison sentences for terrorist conspiracy in 2022.
France is marking the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Father Jacques Hamel, an 86-year-old priest killed by two jihadists pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group. The attack occurred on July 26, 2016, as Hamel was celebrating mass in his church in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, near Rouen. He was stabbed 18 times during the incident.
Commemorations are being held in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, with government members, including Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, in attendance. Former President François Hollande, who was in office at the time of the attack, also participated. Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline is leading a mass at the church where the murder took place.
The national police in Seine-Maritime paid tribute to Hamel and the officers who responded to the attack, highlighting their "exemplary courage." Bernard Cazeneuve, who served as interior minister in 2016, recalled the "grief that gripped the country" but also the "fraternity" shown by the French people.
The two attackers, Adel Kermiche and Abdel-Malik Petitjean, both 19, were killed by police at the scene. In 2022, three individuals associated with the attackers were tried and sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight to thirteen years for "criminal terrorist conspiracy." A fourth defendant, Rachid Kassim, who is believed to have been killed in Iraq in 2017, was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment.