Sometimes, nature calls. And when nature is calling you to have a smoke, but you don’t have a lighter, well, you have to get creative.
That’s basically what happened when a man decided to light his cigarette off the eternal flame in Paris.
Video of the incident has gone viral and could spell deportation for the person who did it.
A man is seen casually lighting his cigarette, then walking away
Image credits: Antonio Conte / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Christian Liewig – Corbis / Getty Images
According to various news reports and the now-viral video, the incident happened at the eternal flame of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
In the video, a man in white pants steps over a thick chain link barrier surrounding the flame, which is maybe 30 centimeters (1 foot) off the ground.
He casually bends forward, lights his cigarette, steps back across the fence, then carries on as if nothing had happened.
Image credits: Arrogance_0024 / X
None of the people who witnessed the event appeared to say anything at that moment.
But when someone posted the video of what happened on social media, it took off.
Politicians and others lambasted the move as outrageous and an insult to a sacred space, calling for his arrest.
A video of the man went viral and prompted his arrest
Image credits: Arrogance_0024 / X
Police obliged.
He was taken into custody earlier this week, with police putting out a statement that read in part:
“This individual who lit a cigarette with the flame of the Unknown Soldier was arrested by our #police colleagues,” the statement said.
According to the New York Times, “In France, violating a burial site, tomb, urn or monument can be punished by up to a year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros (about $17,400).”
Whether the man was aware that he was violating a sacred space is unclear.
Image credits: Arrogance_0024 / X
His name has not been released by police.
But they did say he is a 47-year-old Moroccan national, legally living and working in France.
The NY Times article quotes an unnamed source as saying that the man’s residency could be revoked as a result of his wrongdoing.
There are no military personnel protecting France’s Unknown Soldier tomb
France’s eternal flame burns at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which contains the remains of an unknown French soldier from World War I.
First lit in 1923, the memorial consists of a “slab of granite from Vire in Normandy that bears the epitaph: “Here lies a French soldier who died for the Fatherland 1914-1918,” according to French media.
The slab, called “the sacred slab” by veterans, is surrounded by 18 small pillars intertwined with chains.
Image credits: BrunoRetailleau
The flame never goes out, but every day at 6:30 pm it’s re-enforced by members of the public and veterans.
There are no official ceremonies, and crucially, there is no military presence protecting it.
One of the world’s most heavily guarded Unknown Soldier tombs is in the U.S.
One of the most heavily guarded unknown soldier tombs is in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. in the U.S.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is famously protected around the clock, every second of every day of the year, even in severe weather or in cases of national emergency.
Military personnel who patrol the tomb perform a high-precision changing of the guard ceremony that takes place every 30 minutes or two hours, depending on the time of day or time of year.
The tomb is a place for quiet contemplation, and there are strict rules that must be followed.
Image credits: Zairon / Wikipedia
Besides the obvious rules, such as not walking beyond the barrier, there is strictly no talking, cheering, or applause during the changing of the guard ceremony.
In the rare case that someone, either mistakenly or intentionally, walks beyond a barrier or speaks too loudly, a stern warning is issued by the on-duty guard. Imagine an army sergeant screaming in the face of a new recruit.
There is no flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
JFK’s eternal flame was once doused with holy water
Image credits: Tranmautritam / Pexels (not the actual photo)
But there is an eternal flame elsewhere at Arlington.
Sitting about half a kilometer away from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, is JFK’s eternal flame, installed after his passing in 1963.
Like the flame in Paris, there is no dedicated military guard.
Although there have never been any recorded cases of people lighting their cigarettes off the flame, there is a case of a smoker coming to the rescue when the flame went out.
Image credits: Corentin HENRY / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Apparently, during a Catholic school field trip just months after the flame was lit, holy water got poured on it, and it fizzled out.
Luckily, one of the groundskeepers was a smoker, had a lighter in his pocket, and was able to quickly relight it.
Image credits: Rodrigo Kugnharski / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Netizens say its shameful that someone would disrespect a monument in that way
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