Mourners yesterday packed a church in a rural French town rocked by a deadly Muslim extremist’s attack for a service in tribute to the victims, who included a policeman hailed as a hero for offering himself in place of a hostage.
Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, 44, was shot and stabbed after taking the place of a woman whom Radouane Lakdim had been using as a human shield during his attack on Friday at a supermarket in the town of Trebes.
The sleepy town of 5,000, located on the picturesque Canal du Midi, is just 8km from the famed medieval walled city of Carcassone, where a silent march is planned for Saturday, the day before Easter.
Photo: AFP
The bishop of Carcassonne and Narbonne, Alain Planet, celebrated the mass in the Saint-Etienne-de-Trebes Church to honor the four killed and three wounded in the attacks claimed by the Islamic State group.
“We want this to stop,” said Jean-Pierre Bordeaux, who came with his wife, Henriette, from the nearby village of Capendu to attend the remembrance mass. “We aren’t safe from anything anywhere.”
Parish priest Philippe Guitart warned against blaming Muslims in general for militant attacks.
“We must ... help people to learn to live together,” he said.
Muslim community representatives attended the mass, which had an overflow crowd listening to the service through loudspeakers outside the small church as armed police stood by.
“We have had a long friendship with them,” Planet said. “They are very aware of this sadness, which affects them as well.”
People laid bouquets of white roses outside the town hall in Trebes, with one message reading “Stop the violence, stop, stop.”
A national tribute will be held at a later date for Beltrame, who French President Emmanuel Macron said had “died a hero” and deserved “the respect and admiration of the whole nation.”
Beltrame’s brother, Cedric, said the policeman would have known all too well the risk he was taking.
“He certainly knew he didn’t stand a chance,” Cedric Beltrame said. “He gave his life for another.”
Macron has called a meeting later this week of the security services who monitor individuals suspected of radicalization.
Lakdim, 25, a petty criminal, was on a watch list, but authorities had concluded the Moroccan-born French national did not pose a threat.
Investigators found notes referring to the Islamic State group at Lakdim’s home in Carcassonne, a legal source said, including a hand-written letter in which he claimed allegiance to the group.
Lakdim, who was armed with a gun, knife and homemade explosive devices according to a security source, was shot dead as police moved in to end his siege of the Super U supermarket where he had holed up after a shooting spree in Carcassonne.
He had earlier in the day had hijacked a car in Carcassonne and shot the two people inside, killing the passenger and leaving the Portuguese driver in a critical condition. He also shot and wounded a police officer out jogging.
Beltrame died on Saturday.
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