Michel Catalano, the boss of the printing plant in Dammartin-en-Goële at the opening of the trial of the January 2015 attacks. -
Francois Mori / AP / SIPA
Fourteen people, three of whom are on the run, have been tried since September 2 by the Special Assize Court on suspicion of having provided assistance to the terrorists in the January 2015 attacks.
Since the start of this 4th week of hearing, the court has been examining the flight and the hunt for the Kouachi brothers after the killing perpetrated in the premises of
Charlie Hebdo
.
This Wednesday, the boss and one of the employees of the printing press in which the terrorists had entrenched themselves testified.
At the special assize court in Paris,
Until the morning of January 9, 2015, Lilian and Michel were colleagues.
The youngest, a graphic designer, had been employed for several years by the second, owner of a family printing house in Dammartin-en-Goële (Seine-et-Marne).
Today what are they for each other?
What word can define this bond which unites them since they crossed, together, the road of the terrorists of
Charlie Hebdo
?
Both owe each other their lives.
Lilian because Michel Catalano, his boss, gave him time to hide to escape the Kouachi.
Michel because the goal of getting Lilian out of his business alive has allowed him to maintain extraordinary calm and control.
Five years later, these two men damaged by this final face-to-face with the terrorists were heard by the special Assize Court of Paris.
Overwhelming testimonies that allow us to grasp the magnitude of the explosion that affected all those who had the misfortune to come up against the Kouachi.
"Hide and turn off your cell phone"
On January 9, 2015, while the whole of France was following the hunt for the Kouachi brothers live after the massacre at
Charlie Hebdo
, Michel Catalano and Lilian were despite everything in a “jovial” mood when they met again.
Today is the birthday of Michel, hyperactive boss, field hockey player and hardworking entrepreneur.
But the two men, who have known each other for more than five years, will not have the opportunity to share the lunch planned for this occasion.
Shortly before 9 am, they are interrupted by the arrival of the Kouachi brothers, armed and determined to take refuge in this enterprise.
For a look, Michel and Lilian understand together that their day has just changed.
"I turn to Lilian without running, without panicking, I look at him, I tell him: 'It's them, they're here'.
He sees in my eyes that it's true, he sees the fear of dying, as I see the fear in his, ”says the boss of the printing press.
A last look between the two men, followed by this order from Michel: "Hide and turn off your cell phone".
Lilian does so and takes refuge in the room which serves as the refectory for the small printing team.
A sacrifice "
On the big screen of the courtroom, the photograph of the tiny piece of furniture in which the graphic designer remained cloistered for eight hours, until the final assault of the GIGN, appears.
In an adjacent room, Michel Catalano devotes all his energy to channeling the two jihadists.
Physically separated, Michel and Lilian each think of each other.
The boss offers the two brothers a coffee.
“I wanted to take them away from the bottom of the company.
I was convinced that Lilian was hidden under the desk near the window (...) I took all the strength I had in me to stay as calm as possible, not to annoy them, and especially not to 'they find Lilian'.
Curled up under the sink, Lilian puts his ears on alert and is as discreet as possible.
For himself and "for Michel", he said, his voice broken by emotion: "I thought of my family and of Michel.
He had sacrificed himself for me.
I had no notion of time, no access to my laptop.
It only had to vibrate, the partitions were thin.
»Excited by the sudden arrival of two gendarmes, the terrorists decide to attack them.
Chérif Kouachi was seriously shot in the throat by one of the two soldiers.
Michel Catalano offers to treat him.
Anxious to protect his employee, the man himself goes to get the first aid kit and goes about it three times to affix a bandage to the jihadist.
An unbearable wait
Exhausted by all the efforts made to keep his calm and convinced that he is going to die, Michel Catalano asks if he can go.
Chérif, injured, systematically refuses.
His brother, Said, finally agreed.
"There, I took a deep breath, I turned around and it was the first time I had them on my back, I heard them take the kalach ', they got up, I went down calmly , I thought of Lilian, ”remembers Michel Catalano, sobs in his voice every time he talks about his employee.
Supported by the gendarmes, the manager of the printing press puts all that remains of his energy to inform and help the police who are preparing the assault.
Under his sink, Lilian thinks his boss is dead.
The wait becomes unbearable for them.
"An eternity with potential death" at the end for Lilian.
Michel, him, goes into “apnea”: “As long as he was inside, I gasped (…) For me I had abandoned him, he was going to die and I was alive.
"
"Michel, he's my hero"
At 4:50 p.m., the gendarmes launched the assault.
His legs anesthetized by his position and his body steeped in pain, Lilian held firm under the blasts before being evacuated after the confirmation of the death of the terrorists.
Surrounded by their respective relatives, the two men tell of the same suffering, the same break that has since prevented them from resuming their former life.
Anxiety, hypervigilance, sleep disturbances, crying.
The omnipresence of the media too, which does not leave them for weeks.
Lilian tried to get back to work after the printing house was rebuilt.
“I had to leave the company (…) impossible to return to my workplace.
We tried, but I jumped at the first phone call, I couldn't stay in Dammartin, ”says the young man.
He cries as he explains how difficult it was for him to show his vulnerability, his suffering.
"My father said to me: The best gift you have given me is not to die before me".
# AttacksJanuary2015
- helenesergent (@helenesergent) September 16, 2020
A distress that has become a source of guilt for Michel Catalano: “Lilian is a wonderful person.
Kind, reserved, we can count on him.
I regret that he had to undergo at his age what he underwent and I would have liked so much that he was not there that day ”.
With simple words, Lilian brushes aside these regrets: “He went to meet armed people who had already killed a lot of people.
Michel is my hero, he is the one who saved my life.
"
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