‘UK must learn from France’

‘The French president called me, but I did not even hear from my MP’

Dr Marine Vincent, 37 – a pharmacist originally from France, who has been living in London for the past 13 years – was stabbed during the London Bridge attack. She spent six days in a coma and a further three weeks in hospital and was unable to work for six months.

“I’m lucky in the sense that I had a very good response from France. When I was in a coma my husband had a phone call from the French president and the French interior minister came out to visit me.

“French psychologists were sent out three or four days later. By then I’d already had a money transfer straight into my account. The first payment was made to help with no questions asked. With the compensation, it’s a long process and quite painful, but essentially the French have a points system, which dictates how much compensation you get. It’s the fairest way. The French policy is to say you can receive an integral reparation to have your life back to what it was before the terror attack happened, and that should be the British approach.

“The emergency response was exceptional, the police, the ambulance people, the doctors and nurses all did their jobs perfectly and I am very grateful.

“But I did not hear from any British politicians at all. It was disappointing as on the one hand I had the French president calling, but on the other I did not even hear from my MP. I did not even hear from Sadiq Khan, even though I am a Londoner. My daughter was born here.

“It’s very important to me to be seen as a victim of war and to have that support from government, acknowledging that it was an attack on all our values and democracy. It would have been really helpful if the British Government could show how deeply sorry the country is – it was not a simple accident. Saying sorry in front of journalists is not enough.

“I’ve applied for the Médaille nationale de reconnaissance aux victimes du terrorisme (the National Recognition Medal for Victims of Terrorism) to show the country is sorry for what happened.

“It’s not for bravery or anything – it’s just to help my daughter understand what happened in the same way a grandfather might show war medals. In terms of security, barriers have gone up along London’s bridges but what else happened?

“I’ve heard stories of people involved in Tunisia and Manchester who didn’t have any support. I’m trying to find meaning for what happened. I want to be strong and help. I don’t want to be scared by it.

“I’ve got scars all over my body and I was stabbed in the neck, which hit a nerve, so it’s changed my face.”