French citizen missing in Cairo since August 2021, his family says

French national Yann Bourdon, 27, has been missing in Egypt since August 2021, his mother Isabel Leclerc and his sister Wendy told Mada Masr this month.

There is no evidence that Bourdon left Egypt since that time, according to a source close to Bourdon’s file who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity.

Bourdon, who was studying history at Sorbonne University in Paris, embarked on a walking tour of Europe and the Mediterranean over the summer of 2021, arriving finally to Istanbul, which he left by plane on July 25 bound for Sharm el-Sheikh. He stayed for two nights at a Red Sea resort before departing to Cairo.

On the road, according to text messages he sent to his sister, he met with an officer in Suez who invited him to spend time with him and his friends in Cairo that night. 

The following day, according to Bourdon’s mother and sister, Yan checked in at a small hotel, remaining in touch with his sister until August 4, when he told her he was paying a visit to the museum and that he would text her when he returned. Yan did not have an active SIM card on his phone, and would text his family whenever he had access to WiFi, Wendy said. 

In September, Leclerc expected a message from her son on her birthday, but received none. The same thing happened to Wendy on her birthday in November. “You can forget dates when you’re traveling,” Isabel said, “that’s how I tried to convince myself that he was alright.”

The family reported Yann’s disappearance in November to the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in Paris and the French Consulate in Cairo, who were initially informed by Egyptian authorities that Bourdon had never come to Egypt in the first place. However, after persistent communication from the French police, Egyptian authorities confirmed Bourdon’s July 25 arrival at Sharm el-Sheikh. 

Investigations by French authorities also showed that Bourdon’s credit card was used to make four withdrawals within a timespan of just five minutes at a bank ATM near Sadat Metro Station in Tahrir Square on August 7, three days after his last text message to his sister. The transactions were for 50 euros each, totalling EUR200. Wendy described the transactions as uncharacteristic. “Yan never spent much money. He’d perhaps withdraw some 50 euros once every long period.”

Egypt’s authorities are yet to provide any information regarding Bourdon’s bank transactions on August 7, nor the meeting with an officer that Bourdon described to his sister, according to the source close to the file. 

“We’ve turned to the media as we have no other alternatives and we’ve begun to lose hope. We’re scared for Yann’s fate,” said Leclerc. 

Bourdon’s mother and sister visited Cairo in May this year, meeting with the French ambassador and representatives from the Egyptian Public Prosecution, who questioned them about Yann for nearly three hours. Despite requests from the embassy, they were not granted a meeting with any Egyptian security officials, a matter which Mada’s source said was “a disappointment,” though they did confirm that France had confidence in Egypt’s investigating authorities. 

When asked about the resemblance between Bourdon’s disappearance and the case of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni, whose body was discovered by a roadside in Cairo several days after his disappearance in 2016, and who Italian prosecutors say was killed by members of Egypt’s security authorities, the source responded that “the two cases are different.” “One was researching sensitive issues, was found dead and investigations are ongoing. Yann was a tourist in Egypt without plans, and he disappeared without a trace.”

“The case is sensitive,” the source continued, “if it lingers for long it could accrue weight, and there’s a risk it could be misused.”