ISTANBUL 

Tunisia lodged a protest late Wednesday with France over the killing of a Tunisian national by French police in the city of Marseille.

“Following the killing of the Tunisian citizen Abdelkader Dhibi on September 2, 2025 in Marseille, and on the instructions of His Excellency the President of the Republic, the Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad summoned, this afternoon, September 3, 2025, the Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the French Embassy in Tunis, in the absence of the Ambassador of the French Republic, who is out of the country, to inform him of a strong protest against the killing by members of the French police,” the Tunisian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the US social media company Facebook’s platform.

“The Secretary of State asked the French Chargé d'affaires a.i. to inform his country's authorities that Tunisia considers this incident an unjustified killing and expects the French side to investigate it firmly and quickly and determine responsibilities,” the statement added.

Dhibi, who was armed with two knives and a baton, was shot dead by police after ignoring their warnings to drop his weapons.

He reportedly went on a rampage and wounded five people after being evicted from a hotel for not paying his bill.

Tunisia “intends to take all measures to preserve the rights of the deceased and his family,” the ministry said.

Tunisian President Kais Saied “instructed the Tunisian Ambassador in Paris to convey the same Tunisian position to the French authorities and to take the necessary measures in coordination with our Consulate General in Marseille to expedite the transfer of the body of the deceased to Tunisia as soon as possible.”

The ministry also “contacted the family of the deceased to offer condolences and inform them of all the measures taken to safeguard the rights of the deceased and those of his family.”

“Tunisia reiterates its full commitment and strong determination to protect and defend the interests of all Tunisians wherever they are abroad,” the ministry added.

The statement did not provide further details about the circumstances of the incident. However, French local media reported Tuesday that “Abdelkader was killed by French police officers in central Marseille after he stabbed five people with a knife.”

The same sources said the young Tunisian, who was living legally in France, got into a fight with people in a market before being chased by youths toward the Old Port, where French police shot him.

The French Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation on charges of “attempted premeditated murder” and “attempted premeditated murder of a police officer.”

The case of the attacker’s killing was handed over to the General Inspectorate of the Police to investigate the legitimacy of the use of lethal force, according to the same sources.