Man to face trial for attempted murder of British girl in Alps knife attack

A man who allegedly stabbed a British toddler at a playground in the French Alps will go on trial charged with attempted murder, prosecutors have said.

Abdalmasih Hanoun is also charged with the attempted murder of 12 other people and armed resistance following the knife attack in southeast France, in June 2023.

In an update provided on Wednesday, the French public prosecutor's office said Hanoun would face trial at Haute-Savoie Assize Court in Annecy within the next year.

Visiting the area with her parents

The British girl, who was three at the time and was named locally as Ettie, had been visiting the area with her parents at the time of the incident, officials said.

She was one of four children, aged between 22 months and three years, who were wounded at the lakeside park in Le Paquier, Annecy.

Two elderly adults were also hurt.

At the time, French prosecutors said the girl suffered a single stab wound but her condition was never "vital".

The announcement came after the defendant's mental state was assessed by a panel of experts who found he was not "suffering from a psychological or neuropsychological disorder" at the time of the attack.

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The translated statement from the French public prosecutor's office read: "By a decision dated 6 October 2026… 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 Indictment Chamber considered that since the person under investigation was manifestly not, at the time of the events and according to the second panel of experts, suffering from a psychological or neuropsychological disorder abolishing his discernment or ability to control his actions, there could be no grounds justifying the decision not to indict Mr Abdalmasih Hanoun."

The decision to order a trial to proceed can be subject to appeal at the French Court of Cassation, the statement added.

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.

(c) Sky News 2026: Man to face trial for attempted murder of British girl in Alps knife attack