The attack, which left one dead and two injured near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday December 2nd, has reignited debate about what to do next for radicalized prisoners with mental disorders after their release from prison. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin himself emphasized on Monday: A “psychiatric failure” in monitoring the terrorist. A question made all the more delicate by the fact that 20% of the people registered in the File for Processing Reports to Prevent Terrorist Radicalization (FSPRT) are present psychological or psychiatric disorders, according to the Interior Ministry.

If he has not been diagnosed as psychotic, according to a source close to the investigation, Terrorist Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab had at least one delusional episode while in prison: in 2019, he confided to a guard that he had heard the voices of Bataclan terrorists and that he wanted to kill his parents.

As part of his suspended sentence, a judge issued a treatment order: After his release from prison in March 2020, he was required to see a psychiatrist for a period of three years. An obligation he fulfilled since, according to a source familiar with the case, he made thirty-five visits to his psychiatrist during this period.

No psychiatric danger

However, in agreement with his doctor, he interrupted his treatment in March 2022. His suspended sentence, which included the possibility of a temporary restraining order for court-ordered treatment, ended in April 2023 with a final conclusion. A medical report found a psychiatric risk and did not conclude that a resumption of medication monitoring was necessary. But a few months later, in October 2023, his mother alerted authorities that her son was in isolation and appeared to be relapsing.

Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab’s behavior did not appear to pose a direct threat to public order at the time: the conditions for compulsory hospitalization, which the prefect can decide upon after confirmation by two doctors, were therefore not met. THE “Psychiatric care by decision of the state representative” can actually be requested from the Prefect for “Persons whose mental disorders require care and endanger personal safety or seriously endanger public order”under the Public Health Act.

Only a second scenario – hospitalization without consent at the “request of a third party” – was provided for by law. The government then offered this option to her mother, but she declined. “Fear of his son”, states a source close to the investigation. A few weeks later, Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab stabbed a German-Filipino tourist near the Eiffel Tower. There is no evidence that he experienced a delusional episode: According to an investigator, while in police custody he confessed very clearly to his crime and gave a fabricated speech.

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