A hit-team headed bomb attack was undertaken at the Armenian Genocide Memorial inAlfortville, France byGrey Wolves member[1]Abdullah Çatlı and paid for by Turkey'sNational Intelligence Organization.[2][3][4][5] It occurred on 3 May 1984, in a heavilyArmenian populated district.[4]
The target chosen for the attack was a memorial dedicated to the victims of theArmenian genocide on the rueÉtienne Dolet which was inaugurated on 24 April 1984, the 69th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.[4] The Turkish press denounced the monument as a "monument of hate".[4][6] About a week after the inauguration, three bombs were reported to have exploded on 3 May 1984, resulting in thirteen injuries, two of them serious.[5][7] The monument, made ofKhachkar stone, was severely damaged in the blasts. The mayor of Alfortville at the time,Joseph Franceschi [fr], who was also the secretary of state for public security, condemned the attack.[5]Jean Poperen, who was the national secretary for theSocialist Party of France, also condemned the attack and expressed his solidarity with theArmenians of France.[8]
An investigation was begun immediately after the attack. It was later reported by one newspaper that the attack was operated by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization or MİT.[3] The memorial bombing came after several bombings that occurred against Armenian institutions and monuments throughout France, such as the bombing of the Armenian Cultural Center in Alfortville in 1983.[2]
A second attack occurred during the evening of 13 April 2002; three unknown assailants threw threemolotov cocktails at the monument, causing serious damage.[9] The attack occurred within days of the 87th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. An investigation was launched by the local Alfortville police but the assailants were never caught.[2]