A photo of Veronique and Philippe Monguillot, the bus driver killed in Bayonne. - AFP

Applause and the Agur Jauna , a traditional farewell song sung by a Basque choir. Nearly a thousand people gathered this Monday at the beginning of the afternoon at the Sainte-Croix church in Bayonne to pay tribute to Philippe Monguillot, this bus driver who died after being attacked.

On July 5, the victim wanted to control a person's ticket and demanded the wearing of the mask for three other passengers, according to the Bayonne prosecutor. What had resulted in a rain of blows which seriously injured his head, before his death five days later.

Colleagues from #PhilippeMonguillot arrive at the funeral of this bus driver who died in #Bayonne under the blows of travelers. pic.twitter.com/2SGMohXW1l

- France Bleu Pays Basque (@Bleu_Basque) July 20, 2020

Whether it is his family, his friends, but also anonymous people, many of them wanted to say a last goodbye to this 59-year-old man, father of three daughters. For the occasion, a giant screen was installed outside with 200 seats, many people had to remain standing.

Marlène Schiappa, the minister responsible for citizenship to the Minister of the Interior has just arrived. The family is not there yet pic.twitter.com/DZ3nRzDqyX

- Carol Suhas (@CarolSuhas) July 20, 2020

"You leave a big void"

His many colleagues had all donned a white T-shirt while the Chronoplus bus network was standing in the shape of a tribute. The Minister responsible for Citizenship, Marlène Schiappa, made the trip and was with the mayor of Bayonne Jean-René Etchegaray. "You leave a big void," said his wife Veronique, surrounded by her three daughters, during the ceremony.

Two men, 22 and 23, already known to the police, are in pre-trial detention and risk life imprisonment for "intentional killing on a public transport operator". Two accomplices were also imprisoned for "failure to assist a person in danger".

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  • Pays Basque
  • Aggression
  • Tribute
  • Covid 19
  • Aquitaine
  • Bus
  • Coronavirus
  • Driver
  • Bayonne
  • Society