A video showing how the man stops under the Arc de Triomphe and lights a cigarette on the memorial flame before calmly walking on has received widespread dissemination in social media.
The action has been condemned by the country's Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau, who calls it "offensive and pathetic". On Tuesday, the man could be arrested suspected of desecration of a grave and he has admitted the deed, Retailleau writes on X.
The grave under the Arc de Triomphe at the end of the parade street Champs-Élysées contains the remains of a soldier who was killed during the First World War and is a symbol of fallen French soldiers.
"This flame does not light cigarettes, it burns for the sacrifices of millions of our soldiers", says Patricia Miralles, responsible for veteran issues in France, on X.
