Chadian man sets himself ablaze in French court
A Chadian man set himself ablaze on Friday inside a French court after his last chance at obtaining asylum was rejected, a court said. The 38-year-old man suffered serious burns to scalp and torso.
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Pascale Girault, the secretary general of the National Court of Asylum, said the man's first demand for asylum was rejected a few months ago by the Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless People (OFPRA).
A police source said the man had arrived in France via Syria.
Witnesses say the man entered the court, located in an eastern Parisian suburb, to inquire about how his situation could be re-examined but when told the final decision he doused himself with fuel and set himself alight.
Security guards used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames, said a police source.
Every year some 40,000 asylum seekers appeal to the courts after being denied by OFPRA.
The asylum seeker is usually expelled from France if the court rejects the appeal.
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