The small village of Saint-Laurent-des-Arbres, in the Rhone Gard, was cordoned off for several hours and its inhabitants confined during an intervention by the gendarmerie on Thursday. The Gendarmerie Surveillance and Intervention Platoon (PSIG) intervened early Thursday morning to arrest a man under an arrest warrant for threats and insults.
But when they arrived, they were unable to enter the house of the respondent, who had barricaded himself at home with a gun and was threatening the soldiers. They were quickly supported by the men of the research and intervention brigade (BRI) from Orange, a town in Vaucluse, located on the other side of the Rhône, accompanied by a negotiator.
Village cordoned off and inhabitants confined
The latter then came into contact with the madman, beginning a long exchange of several hours. The man finally agreed to surrender without violence at the start of the afternoon, allowing this village of 2,909 inhabitants, located about thirty kilometers east of Nîmes, to regain its usual tranquility.