French soldier dies after being shot in the head during ‘game’ with other soldiers

A French soldier has died after he was shot in the head while taking part in a game with other soldiers during a party, according to local media.

Brigadier Alexandre Lanckbeen was critically injured during the incident last Saturday while attending a party involving alcohol at the Percy Military Teaching Hospital in Clamart, west of Paris.

According to French prosecutors, a loaded handgun was discharged during what was described as a game between the soldiers, and a bullet struck Lanckbeen in the head.

Loïc Mizon, the military governor of Paris, said he had learned with “deep sadness” of the 20-year-old’s death on Friday as a result of his injuries.

“I wish to express my deepest compassion to his family and loved ones and assure them of the full support of the armed forces,” he said in a post on X.

Brigadier Lanckbeen served with the 35th Parachute Artillery Regiment based in Tarbes, and was deployed as part of Operation Sentinelle, a long-running domestic security operation.

According to prosecutors, on Saturday evening four soldiers housed at Percy Hospital had begun playing a game known within the military that involves attempting to disarm a colleague and disable their weapon.

The weapon is usually unloaded when the game is played but in this case it was not, according to local media.

During the game, a shot was fired which struck Lanckbeen in the head.

Three soldiers who were also deployed as part of Operation Sentinelle appeared before a Paris court on Tuesday in connection with the shooting, according to local media.

One soldier was charged with “violence with a weapon resulting in permanent disability and breaching orders by consuming alcohol”, reports said.

The other two soldiers were reportedly charged with “involuntary bodily harm resulting in a work incapacity exceeding three months, through a manifestly deliberate violation of regulatory obligation of safety or caution”.

They were also charged with “altering the scene of a crime or offense to obstruct the course of justice”.

Following Lanckbeen’s death, the charges are expected to be reclassified.

The inquiry has been handed to the criminal investigation service in Hauts-de-Seine.