Moroccan Worker Dies After Fall From Roof Days After Company Was Struck Off Register
Abdelhafid, a 47-year-old undocumented Moroccan worker, died at a construction site in France. The company run by the man who was with him had already been struck off the commercial register. A court has just convicted him.
In June 2023, Abdelhafid was working on the roof of a warehouse at the Marchés de l’Oise in Montataire, in northern France. The Moroccan worker was carrying out waterproofing work when he fell through a transparent roof window. The fall was fatal. He died less than an hour after the accident. The man, who had come from Morocco in the hope of a better life, was working without a residence permit or a contract.
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On November 2, 2026, Abdelaali R., 61, appeared before the Senlis criminal court on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the workplace. “He tripped,” said the company owner, who was also on the roof. He acknowledged that conditions were dangerous, particularly when the insulation materials shifted beneath their feet, Le Parisien reports.
His company had closed before the accident
Commercial register documents reveal an unusual timeline. Maitreya Global Services, run by Abdelaali R. and based in Stains, Seine-Saint-Denis, began its voluntary dissolution on March 30, 2023. Its voluntary liquidation was completed on April 30, then its removal from the register was recorded on June 13 and published in the Official Bulletin of Civil and Commercial Notices on June 16. Abdelhafid’s accident occurred a few days after this last publication.
At the hearing, the defendant said he had believed Abdelhafid was working as a self-employed contractor. He also said he had been unaware of his immigration status. The victim’s brother, represented by Me Diogo Bogado, disputed this account: Abdelhafid could not even afford to own his own tools. The prosecutor’s representative said Abdelaali R. was responsible for organizing the worksite and for the safety measures that should have protected the worker.
The defendant’s lawyer, Me Louis Balling, said his client had accepted the job at the request of someone who had been giving him work for twenty years. The court found Abdelaali R. guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the workplace and sentenced him to seven months in prison, suspended, and a €1,000 fine. It also barred him from running a business for two years.
