Ephemeris of September 17 in Paris: Bomb attack in front of Tati, rue de Rennes

On September 17, 1986, Paris was once again the target of a terrorist attack on the rue de Rennes. For two weeks, the capital had been the scene of a series of attacks, claimed by a pro-Iranian terrorist network working on behalf of the Lebanese Hezbollah. The bomb, planted in front of the Tati store, killed 7 people and wounded 55, putting an end to this "black September".

On Wednesday, September 17, 1986, an attack was carried out outside the Tati store at 140 rue de Rennes. A bomb exploded, killing seven people and wounding 55 others. It was the final strike in a 14-attack wave by a pro-Iranian terrorist network acting on behalf of the Lebanese Hezbollah, which darkened Paris in 1985 and 1986 and left a total of 13 dead and 303 injured.

During September 1986, in just two weeks Paris was hit by no fewer than 6 terrorist attacks claimed by the Committee in Solidarity with Arab and Middle Eastern Political Prisoners to pressure France to stop its support for Iraq in the conflict with Iran and to secure the release of other terrorists held by the French state.

The first — and thwarted — strike of this so-called "Black September" unfolds on September 4 in the RER, at Gare de Lyon, during rush hour. What follows is a sequence of attacks: at the Hôtel de Ville on September 8, a bombing in La Défense on September 12, another on the Champs-Élysées on September 14, and then a attack the next day at the police prefecture. Paris is on edge and the police, powerless, are kept on high alert. Rue de Rennes, on the 6th, the final and deadliest strike of the series, will bring this bloody period to an end.

It's hot, on September 17, 1986; Parisians are out and about, strolling past the shop windows on rue de Rennes in the Montparnasse district, one of the capital's busiest shopping arteries. At 5:20 p.m., two men in a black BMW plant a bomb in a municipal trash can, just a few meters from the windows of the Tati store.

As in the previous attacks, the Lebanese terrorists chose a busy public space to maximize casualties and to sow shock and fear across the country. Packed with metal shavings and upholstery tacks, the device exploded, wounding 55 people and killing seven others: René Bastong, Audrey Benghozi, Claudie Béral, Amil Mamadali, Linda Medioni Lajus, Micheline Peyrat and Moktar Tahirali.

The head of the terrorist commando responsible for this string of attacks, Fouad Ali Saleh, was arrested on March 21, 1987 by officers from the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance; his network was dismantled. On April 14, 1992, the leader of the pro-Iranian terrorist network was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, with an 18-year security term.

Further reading:

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