The French National Antiterrorist Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) on Tuesday opened a preliminary investigation into the explosion that occurred on Thursday, December 30 on the sidelines of Dakar 2022. That day, a blast broke out on Saudi roads in Jeddah and seriously affected injured the French pilot Philippe Boutron, who today risks the amputation of both legs. Several elements prompted the French authorities to look into this mysterious affair and to entrust the investigations to the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI). “The PNAT could not fail to seize insofar as the Paris-Dakar is underway and there have already been terrorist threats against this race in the past. This will make it possible to make a request for international assistance and to obtain the results of the investigations of the local authorities ”explains a judicial source. “This does not mean that the investigation will conclude with a terrorist attack at the end, but there is enough suspicion to open an investigation.”
Philippe Boutron, 61, and also president of Union Sportive Orléans Football, a third division football club, was driving a car when it exploded near the hotel where its occupants had just spent the night. Everyone was heading to the stadium where checks took place on the cars scheduled to take part in the rally-raid which began two days later.
The Saudi authorities had ruled out on Saturday the track of a criminal act to explain what they qualified as an “accident”, which seriously injured Philippe Boutron in a leg, repatriated to the military hospital of Clamart after having been operated in Saudi Arabia. For its part, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on its nationals to be “maximum vigilant”, adding on the contrary that “the hypothesis of a criminal act” was “not ruled out” and recalling that “the terrorist threat persists ( a) in Saudi Arabia ”. The organization of the race had explained that a “malicious act” was not excluded.
“There are enough suspicions to open an investigation”
Several criteria contributed to the referral of the PNAT. First of all, the French nationality of the victim. Immediately repatriated, she was plunged into an artificial coma. The inquiries hope to be able to question him soon. The context, then. The geographical area is known to be an Islamist zone where appeals have already been launched against French interests. In addition, there was already an explosive attack a year ago in Jeddah during a commemoration ceremony on November 11 in the presence of several Western advisers. A Greek policeman and a Turkish adviser were injured. Finally, the nature of the explosive, the fact that the charge was placed under the car as well as the testimonies of the victims finally convinced the French authorities.
According to our information, photos of the explosive device were transmitted to the PNAT.
Sitting in a passenger seat at the time of the tragedy, Thierry Richard, 57, spoke of “war scenes”, “very difficult” moments. According to the Bordeaux resident, six people were on board at the time. “We saw the impact under the vehicle. We are not stupid, we know that it is also an explosion. We took a breath in the car “, told AFP the pilot of the Sodicars team to which the victim also belongs, adding:” It is an attack, we were blown up “.