“Ben Assen had no problem,” breathes Hadj, his childhood friend, after the white march organized this Sunday between the Pont de la Paix, in Grigny, and the Place de l’Oiseau, in the district of Grande- Terminal where the 43-year-old victim lived. He was someone smiling, helpful and respectful. He had a very healthy life and was entirely dedicated to his mother. »
On Thursday March 28, after preparing the table for his blind mother, Ben Assen left the apartment to go to his sports session. Usually so punctual, he never arrived at his destination that day. His body, lifeless and lying in a pool of blood, was found in the lobby of his building. Stabbed around twenty times, he did not survive his injuries.
Symbolically, the procession made up of several hundred people set off from the Peace Bridge at the beginning of the afternoon. After crossing Grande-Borne in silence, the relatives, some of whom wore t-shirts bearing his image, gathered under the family's windows, only a few dozen meters from the scene of the attack.
“This is the fourth time that a tragedy has struck this family,” notes his friend Hadj. I want to pay tribute to the mother. The first time she was touched in her flesh was when she lost her husband who was the pillar of the family. She then lost two sons
(Editor's note: one was killed violently, the other succumbed to a devastating tumor).
Twenty-nine years later, it's Ben Assen... Ben Assen, I've never seen him in an argument. I also never heard him raise his voice or speak badly to anyone. »
Also read “Our family is destroyed”: the despair of those close to Shemseddine, beaten to death in Viry-Chatillon
Also a childhood friend of the victim, opposition municipal councilor Kouider Oukbi, at the origin of the white march, describes a man “very kind, punctual and who had done everything possible to help his mother”. “As children, we nicknamed him
Spy
because he let his ears hang everywhere, without being noticed,” he adds. In Grigny, we are carters. This little nickname had stuck. »
“If you know something, say it”
Despite the investigations carried out by investigators from the interdepartmental judicial police service (SIPJ), the motive for the murder remains unknown and no suspect has yet been arrested. “If you ever know something, say it,” implores her big sister into the microphone. At that time, around 4:10/4:30 p.m., children are playing in the neighborhood. There is a bus stop not far away too. If you know something, please say so. »
Grigny, Sunday April 7, 2024. The mother of Ben Assen, killed with around twenty stab wounds in the hall of his building in Grande Borne, came to meet the procession which paid tribute to her son. LP/FG
This tribute is the second that the city has paid to Ben Assen. Friday evening, the town hall also organized a gathering in his memory.
“What we are going through is not a repeated news item but a social fact,” declared Mayor Philippe Rio (PCF), referring to the attack on 15-year-old Boukari, which occurred two days later in the same neighborhood. It is not inevitable that we will meet again next week, in a month or in six to pay our respects and convey our condolences to a family. We must all reinvent new solutions together. More prevention, social cohesion but also sanctions and repression are extremely important elements to regain respect in Grigny. »