Highlights: France: at the trial of the Trèbes and Carcassonne attacks, the Beltrame family testifies at the bar. In 2018, a terrorist killed four people in a parking lot and in a supermarket in the south of France, before being shot dead by the police. Among the victims, Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame. He had exchanged places with one of the attacker's hostages. “Arnaud was not a hothead, he was fed up with cowardice and laxity, it’s obvious that he behaves this way,” says his mother.

The trial of the Trèbes and Carcassonne attacks is entering its second week. In 2018, a terrorist killed four people in a parking lot and in a supermarket in the south of France, before being…

France: at the trial of the Trèbes and Carcassonne attacks, the Beltrame family testifies at the bar

The trial of the Trèbes and Carcassonne attacks is entering its second week. In 2018, a terrorist killed four people in a parking lot and in a supermarket in the south of France, before being shot dead by the police. Among the victims, Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame. He had exchanged places with one of the attacker's hostages. Today, his mother and brother came to testify on the stand. Hearing report.

Nicole Beltrame, the mother of gendarme Arnaud Beltrame who had taken the place of a hostage, testified at the bar on January 29, 2024. AFP - BERTRAND GUAY

By: RFI Follow

“

Arnaud Beltrame is not only a hero of France, he is also my son

.” Six years after the attack, the pain remains acute for Nicole Beltrame. “

But I don’t need a psychologist. Me, I’m going to see nature, Brittany or the animals

.” On the stand, the hearing of Arnaud Beltrame's mother contrasts with that of the ex-supermarket employees who recounted their trauma a little earlier.

“

Arnaud Beltrame had just arrived in Carcassonne. I told myself that he would finally be able to rest a little, I never would have imagined an attack in this city

.” In the Beltrame family, there is also the grandfather injured during the Indochina war, this story had a big impact on him, this time says his little brother Damien. “

Arnaud Beltrame was his soldier

,” he said. “

What reassures me is that he didn’t just die, he died fighting this terrorist

.”

We ask him the question while taking the place of the hostage, did he win? “

No, because I wish he was alive. Yes, because he pushed dozens of people to become police officers or gendarmes. Arnaud was not a hothead, he was fed up with cowardice and laxity, it’s obvious that he behaves this way

,” thunders his mother. And his brother concludes. “

Arnaud remained the same until the end

.”

Read alsoFrance: the shadow of Gendarme Beltrame hangs over the trial of the Trèbes and Carcassonne attacks

France: at the trial of the Trèbes and Carcassonne attacks, the Beltrame family testifies at the bar

France: at the trial of the Trèbes and Carcassonne attacks, the Beltrame family testifies at the bar

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