French Outrage at Tipping Point After Student’s Rape and Murder

For her fellow students, what happened to Philippine has been a wake-up call for those who still thought that insecurity was a distant issue

The news of the rape and murder of 19-year-old Philippine on the outskirts of Paris, involving a Moroccan illegal immigrant who had already been convicted by the courts and was facing deportation, exacerbates the anger of French citizens who see the repeated and culpable failings of the justice system leading to bloody, yet avoidable, tragedies.

The chain of events that led to the death of Philippine, a 19-year-old Catholic student, highlights a dramatic chain of responsibility that has already been observed in similar cases.

The Fdesouche website recalls the main stages in the life of Taha O., the 22-year-old Moroccan arrested in Switzerland on suspicion of Philippine’s murder.

In 2019, having entered France legally while still a minor, he raped a 23-year-old woman. He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment but did not serve the full sentence and was released after five years. In June 2024, an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF) was issued against him, and he was taken to a detention centre awaiting deportation. He had to wait for the agreement of his country of origin, Morocco, and for a consular pass to be issued. On September 3rd, a judge decided to release him. A few days later, Morocco gave the go-ahead for the deportation, but it was too late. He had disappeared, flouting his obligations: clocking in and out and of house arrest in a hotel. On September 19th, the day before Philippine’s murder, he was on the national file of wanted people.

Continued below.