A 47-year-old man was fatally shot on a French motorway in a British-registered van carrying around ten undocumented migrants, authorities announced Friday. The incident occurred at the Champ l’Épée rest area on the A26 motorway near the village of Mailly-le-Camp, close to Troyes in eastern France. The A26, which connects to Calais, is often referred to as “l’autoroute des Anglais” due to its heavy use by vehicles traveling to and from the United Kingdom.

The victim was discovered seated in the front passenger seat of the van early Friday morning, shortly after the vehicle had parked at the rest area. French prosecutors said the van contained approximately ten foreign nationals residing illegally in France, including Iranian and Iraqi Kurds, and at least one woman. The man's nationality has not been disclosed.

Following the shooting, several individuals fled the scene. Police, aided by a police dog, found one person hiding in the nearby bushes several hours later. Officials described this individual as someone “likely to have been present at the scene at the time,” but it remains unclear if this person is being treated as a suspect or a witness.

Authorities have launched a murder investigation, exploring the possibility that the killing is related to a human-smuggling operation. The inquiry covers multiple charges including murder, attempted murder, illegal possession of a firearm, and involvement in organised human trafficking—specifically the facilitation of illegal entry, movement, and residence of foreign nationals in France as part of a criminal network.

Northern French highways are known corridors for people smuggling, and law enforcement officials have noted a rise in violent incidents linked to these trafficking groups, which they say have begun to mirror the brutality associated with drug trafficking gangs. In a notable previous incident, two undercover officers were wounded by gunfire in February 2025 at a motorway rest area in the Burgundy region during a police operation targeting a migrant-smuggling network.

The investigation into the latest shooting remains ongoing, with authorities continuing to gather evidence and question witnesses in an effort to determine the identity of the assailant and the circumstances surrounding the killing.