The stabbing attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday has claimed the life of a 27-year-old French national, among 15 fatalities reported in the incident[[1]]. Authorities have arrested two men in connection with the attack, which has prompted an outpouring of grief and raised concerns about security in the wake of a similar incident at Bondi Junction last year[[1]], [[2]], and [[3]]. This report focuses on Dan Elkayam, the French victim, and the impact of his death on his family and community in Le Bourget, France.
French IT Engineer Among Victims of Sydney Beach Attack
A 27-year-old French national has been identified as one of the 15 people killed in a stabbing attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. The incident, which unfolded on Sunday, has prompted an outpouring of grief and raised questions about security in the country.
The victim has been named as Dan Elkayam, an IT engineer who had been working in Sydney for just over a year. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced his death shortly after 7 p.m. local time. The attack underscores the global reach of violent extremism and its impact on citizens abroad.
Elkayam was originally from Le Bourget, a suburb of Paris. The mayor of Le Bourget, Jean-Baptiste Borsali, paid tribute to him in a Facebook post, expressing his deepest condolences to the family and loved ones.
“In these painful hours, on behalf of the city of Le Bourget and in my personal name, I send my most sincere thoughts to his family and all those close to him,” Borsali wrote. “The loss of a child, far from his own, in such tragic circumstances, deeply affects us.”
Borsali added that Elkayam’s parents, who still reside in Le Bourget, were well-known local business owners, having run a furniture store in the town. He described the young man’s death as having “created a stir within the city because they are very sociable, very kind people, well known to the population.” Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), spoke with the parents on Sunday.
After completing his studies in Montreuil and Créteil, near Paris, Elkayam worked in Bois-Colombes, before relocating to Sydney in December 2023, where he worked as an IT analyst. According to his social media profiles, he had traveled extensively in recent years, visiting Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand, and Australia. He also played football for a club in Le Bourget for several years.
