A man accused of stabbing a British toddler at a playground in the French Alps will go on trial charged with attempted murder, according to French prosecutors. Abdalmasih Hanoun faces charges over the knife attack at a lakeside park in Le Paquier, Annecy, south-east France, in June 2023.
Charges and Victims
Hanoun is charged with the attempted murder of 13 people, including the British girl, who was three years old at the time and was named locally as Ettie. He is also charged with armed resistance, and with violence with a weapon without total work incapacity in respect of two victims.
The girl had been visiting the area with her parents, officials said. She was one of four children, aged between 22 months and three years, who were wounded. Two elderly adults were also hurt.
Court Decision and Expert Findings
In an update on Wednesday, the French public prosecutor’s office said Hanoun would face trial at Haute-Savoie Assize Court in Annecy within the next year. The announcement followed an assessment by a panel of experts who found he was not suffering from a psychological or neuropsychological disorder at the time of the attack.
A translated statement from the Indictment Chamber of the Chambery Court of Appeal, dated October 6 2026, 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.”
The statement added that the chamber considered that, according to the second panel of experts, Hanoun was not suffering from a disorder abolishing his discernment or ability to control his actions, so there were no grounds to justify not indicting him. The decision to order a trial can be subject to appeal at the French Court of Cassation.
Aftermath
Shortly after the attack, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte visited the British child and other victims in hospital before travelling to the lakeside town where the attack took place.
