The father of Matisse, the 15-year-old teenager stabbed by an Afghan teenager of the same age in Châteauroux, testifies in the media. He tells who his son was, calls for calm and hopes that “justice will be done”.
He nicknamed his son Matou. A few days after the death of Matisse, 15, stabbed by a 15-year-old Afghan teenager in Châteauroux on March 27, his father Christophe Marchais reacted on Facebook and in the media to tell who his son was.
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“My Cat, my big otter, you didn’t deserve that… No one deserves that,” writes the father of the family on his Facebook page. “You were a real nice guy, ready to do anything for your friends even if it meant alienating your parents.” A teenager “full of humor, even black humor”. Christophe Marchais describes his son as “a super nice little kid”, “joyful and happy” and who “loved everyone”, in an interview on France 3 Center Val-de-Loire. Like many teenagers his age, Matisse loved football and had played for several years at L’Étoile, a neighborhood club in Châteauroux.
Christophe Marchais remembers “these 15 wonderful years” with his son and recounts several everyday scenes: “You will no longer hit me in the ribs from behind to annoy me, I will no longer see you stop by the restaurant just for a kiss, I will no longer wake you up in the morning when your alarm has been bothering everyone for 30 minutes but you are snoring.”
“There’s no excuse for that.”
Matisse’s father hopes that his son’s alleged murderer will be heavily punished. “I’m sorry, but even if it was a 15 year old kid, there’s no excuse for that. Going home to stab someone, especially a friend you’ve been hanging out with for a few weeks, is is not possible.” “This horror happened very quickly, you did not suffer too much,” he hopes, describing as “animals” those who attacked Matisse, a son and his mother. He continues: “I hope that justice will be done, that it will not be too lax, that it will be a maximum.” R., the 15-year-old Afghan minor accused of the death of Matisse, was indicted for “murder” and imprisoned Rather than “moping around and choosing hatred”, Christophe Marchais promises his son to “live for you” and “laugh in your memory”.
Monitor your children
In the message addressed to his son on Facebook, Christophe Marchais calls on parents to “watch their children because life is fragile”. Overwhelmed by emotion, he confided on France 3 Center Val-de-Loire: “It’s going to sound very old-fashioned, but we have to track the kids, know where they are.” And recommends “cutting ties” from “the first encounter that sucks”. It encourages parents’ use of tracking or geolocation applications.
No political recovery
Matisse’s death sparked numerous political reactions, particularly on the right and the far-right. But the father warns: I don’t want anyone to take ownership of Matou’s death. I don’t want people to step up to the plate – we know who is going to do it – because he was an Afghan.” Moreover, he categorically refutes that his son could have uttered racist insults.
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Gabriel Attal, the Prime Minister, called Christophe Marchais this week. Matisse’s father and mother will organize a white march in memory of their 15-year-old son, Saturday May 4 in Châteauroux. “Matisse was a super nice kid. We want something that looks like him.”
