Majda’s Bravery: Will France Grant Her Papers After the Gagny Attack?

This is the paradox of a heroine who has become invisible in the eyes of the administration. Majda, 21, has an appointment this Thursday, 5 February, at the sub-prefecture of Raincy (Seine-Saint-Denis). The stakes are vital: obtaining papers so she can receive medical care and rebuild her life, eight months after surviving the horror, reports the newspaper L’Humanité.

Read also: Gagny tragedy: what we know about the murder of a Moroccan woman

On 20 June 2025, on the forecourt of the Gagny RER station, the life of this young Moroccan woman changed forever. She was accompanying her aunt Fdila, 55, to protect her from a threatening former partner when the man suddenly appeared armed with an axe. Fdila succumbed to her injuries. Majda, meanwhile, stepped in between them. Struck on the head, she underwent two emergency brain surgeries and now lives with a metal plate in her skull, as well as severe motor and psychological after-effects.

Read also: No appointment, no papers: the administrative trap affecting thousands of Moroccans in France

Majda arrived in France in spring 2024 to sit engineering entrance exams. She remained in the country after her tourist visa expired, staying with her aunt, whom she considered her mother. Today, her undocumented status is hindering her recovery. Her State Medical Aid (AME) is partial: it covers neither all her medication, nor scans, nor the essential rehabilitation needed for her to walk properly again.

“She needs comprehensive care,” warns Amandine Maraval, director of the Pow’Her association, which is temporarily housing her. With no income and unable to work, the young woman is surviving thanks to solidarity from associations, while the attacker has been charged with the murder of a spouse and attempted murder.

Faced with what her lawyer, Me Pauline Rongier, describes as “institutional violence,” a campaign is taking shape. The Fondation des Femmes and the Pow’Her association have launched a petition and are urging the State to grant exceptional regularization “on the grounds of bravery,” a measure that has already allowed foreign nationals who risked their lives for others to become naturalized citizens.

“Majda tried to protect a woman. France must now protect Majda,” argues Laura Slimani of the Fondation des femmes. This Thursday’s appointment at the sub-prefecture will serve as a test of recognition for the status of co-victims of femicides, who are often the great forgotten victims of family tragedies.