It is a ceremony that the parents want to be “dignified” and above all far from “political unrest”. Hundreds of people are expected this Monday afternoon in Lilles, in Pas-de-Calais, for the funeral of Lola, 12, whose savage murder shocked the country.
For “a last tribute” to the little girl, the family met at 1:45 p.m. at the Saint-Omer collegiate church in Lilles, a town of 10,000 inhabitants where her mother is from. The parents wish “to be able to honor the memory” of Lola “in serenity” and “respect and dignity”, they reaffirmed Sunday evening, for the third time since Thursday.
The mass, celebrated at 2:30 p.m. by the bishop of Arras Mgr Olivier Leborgne, will be open to the public, but the burial in the cemetery “will take place in the strictest privacy”, they added. “I want Lola’s parents to find the possibility of living again,” said Bishop Leborgne on France 3 on Sunday. “I hope people will be very sober, very discreet, very respectful. »
Gérald Darmanin should be present
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and several elected officials are expected, including Pas-de-Calais RN deputy Caroline Parmentier. The capacity of the church being limited to 500 people, a “sound system” will be installed outside and the place completely emptied of its cars to be able to accommodate “a few thousand people”, indicated a source close to the security forces.
The tragic circumstances of the death of the child, abused, asphyxiated and found on October 14 in a trunk in the courtyard of his building, aroused great emotion in the country. From the gates of his residence to the mailboxes of the municipalities where his relatives lived, thousands of anonymous people sent their condolences. “Thank you all for your support,” wrote Lola’s mom, in a Facebook message shared more than 20,000 times.