Tragic Anniversary: Parents of Missing French Rugby Star Seek Answers in South Africa

Medhi Narjissi disappeared on August 7, 2024, while on a training camp with the French under-18 national team in South Africa. A year after the events, Jalil and Valérie Narjissi, the player’s parents from Stade Toulousain, will pay their respects at Dias Beach, at the Cape of Good Hope, where Medhi disappeared. They should also be heard by the South African police and judicial authorities as part of the ongoing investigation, reports La Dépêche.

"It seems that an investigation is ongoing there, although I do not know the exact terms and limits. Jalil Narjissi and his wife Valérie will travel to South Africa on the anniversary date of their son’s disappearance. I hope they can be questioned as part of this public investigation in South Africa so that the role of Frédéric Plachési, the travel agent in Pretoria who organized the stay of the French U18 team, can be clarified," said Me Edouard Martial, one of the lawyers for the missing person’s family.

The parents of Medhi Narjissi should also file a complaint against this travel agent, informs Victor Casellas, the other lawyer for the family. "This is our goal. We believe that the travel agent has responsibilities in the events of August 7 due to his obligations and skills," he said. "The French Rugby Federation has never communicated to us the service contract that binds the company responsible for the reception and organization of the training camp on site," also notes Me Edouard Martial.

According to the lawyer, "this travel agent is not new to hosting French national teams. He has carried out several receptions in the same places before and it seems that he has always opposed any bathing, in any form, in the ocean and on Dias Beach. And that’s what we want to know." No legal proceedings would be opened for the moment in South Africa. The possible complaint of the Narjissi parents against the travel agent could trigger this procedure.

To recall, criminal proceedings are ongoing in France in this case. Two suspects have been indicted for involuntary manslaughter. They are Robin Ladauge, the physical trainer of the French U18 team, who organized the sea activity during which Medhi Narjissi was swept away; and Stéphane Cambos, the manager of the youth selection. Me Edouard Martial hopes that "this procedure will also extend to Florian Grill, the president of the French Rugby Federation", who according to him, "failed in his duties in the constitution of the group and the sending of minors to South Africa in deplorable conditions."