Around 1:00 a.m. on August 20, Vincent R. had an idea. As he explained in the criminal court of Thonon-les-Bains in southeastern France on Monday, August 25, it was inspired by climbers who had unfurled a Palestinian flag at the summit of Mont Blanc four days earlier.
He took a latex glove and a can of orange spray paint from home. He got into the car the mechanic had lent him, drove about 10 kilometers to Châtel, an elegant resort town in the region, and then continued on foot, wearing the glove on his right hand and the can of spray paint hidden in his right pocket.
In this municipality, which is under video surveillance, he marked eight vehicles with the words "Free Palestine." "When you confessed to this during the fourth interrogation," said presiding judge François Bouriot, "you stated that this Jewish community [Lubavitch] uses the same types of vehicles—minivans, often Japanese brands." The investigation confirmed that only four of the marked vehicles actually belonged to members of this Jewish community.