A French minister has announced legal action against an unidentified man filmed lighting a cigarette from the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris. The incident, which occurred under the Arc de Triomphe, sparked outrage after the video was widely shared on social media.
Patricia Miralles, the minister for veterans and remembrance, stated on X that she is filing a case with Paris prosecutors to find the man and impose sanctions. 'You cannot ridicule French remembrance and get away with it,' she wrote.
The tomb contains the remains of an unknown soldier from World War I, serving as a tribute to France's war dead. Miralles condemned the act, saying, 'This flame does not light a cigarette, it burns for the sacrifice of millions of our soldiers.'
According to Le Figaro, the video was filmed by a Latvian tourist on the evening of 4 August and first posted on TikTok. The man stooped to light his cigarette from the flame before walking away calmly as tourists watched.
