Stéphane Burgatt / Photo credits: Loïc Venance/AFP 6:50 a.m., February 19, 2024
The trial of the alleged murderer of Éric Masson, a police officer killed on May 5, 2021 in the city center of Avignon during a banal control intervention near a deal point, opens this Monday. The main suspect, tried before the Vaucluse Assize Court from February 19 to March 1, risks life imprisonment.
His murder caused shock waves. The Prime Minister at the time, Jean Castex, came to preside over a national tribute. During the ceremony, Eric Masson was named police commander and knight of the Legion of Honor. The main accused had been intercepted while he was probably trying to flee, towards Spain.
Aged 36, Éric Masson left behind a widow and two children. The main suspect, 19 years old at the time of the events, is accused of intentional homicide but also of having opened fire on a second police officer, without having succeeded in hitting him. Despite the testimonies, he denies having been present that day.
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The neighborhood still in shock
On site, in downtown Avignon, no one has forgotten this dramatic day. In the alley, as if it were yesterday, Nayma remembers the shooting under the windows of her sewing workshop: "I was with a 14-year-old student who I quickly took to safety when I heard the explosions. Tears come back to her and her voice trembles as she recounts this traumatic scene, including a neighbor desperately attempting cardiac massage.
A futile attempt at resuscitation. Eric Masson died in this isolated alley where drug dealers had their habits. "They were well established on the street, everyone knew it, even the police. It's not a coincidence that they carried out an intervention here but we would never have thought that they were hiding a gun in their bag", s 'moves Phillippe Tomasi, the treasurer of the neighborhood committee.
Died for nothing?
Dealers who do their business a little further away. “They are in this set of alleys where they are less likely to be caught,” observes this resident who prefers to remain anonymous.
“Eric Masson died for nothing,” regrets Claude Simonetti, departmental secretary of the SGP Police Unit union. "We lost not only a friend but also a police officer. Someone who was important at the service level for his involvement and his seriousness during the work. In the interventions, there was a lot of trust that was created." Everyone hopes for justice and the truth, even if the main accused still maintains his innocence.