At the specially composed assize court in Paris,
She talks at full speed, almost eating her words. Is it for fear of forgetting some or to leave this testimony behind? Twice, the president of the specially composed assize court is even obliged to hold her at the stand – he still has a few questions to ask her – while she was already turning on her heels to go sit down again. . “It’s not just the hero of France, it’s also my son that I lost,” begins Nicolle, the mother of Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame. This woman with brown hair tied in a bun, a pink and black cardigan on her back, will not stay more than five minutes on the stand. Just time to talk about this son “full of life and projects.” » “I cry for my son but I am proud of him,” she insists.
On March 23, 2018, when the soldier’s relatives heard on the news that a gendarme had taken the place of a hostage from the Super U in Trèbes, everyone knew. “It could only be Arnaud, that made sense,” his wife, Marielle, who did not wish to testify at the trial, told investigators. His mother also didn’t doubt it for a second. “It was obvious that he behaved in this way, I can imagine him saying to himself: ‘I’m going to get this terrorist, I’m going to save France.’ »
“He was not a coward, he fought”
Why this certainty? There is obviously the journey of Arnaud Beltrame. The soldier is a counterterrorism specialist. A few weeks before the attack, he had even organized a tragically premonitory exercise: a hostage-taking in a store. But those close to him above all mention his character as a key to reading. “He fought to the death, he was not a coward. He didn’t sacrifice himself, he was standing,” insists his mother, straight as an “i” at the bar. In his voice, pride is mixed with a form of anger against “this smut of terrorism”, “cowardice”, or the loss of “fundamental values”.
The court knew the courage of Arnaud Beltrame, the bravery of his act. But she had the opportunity to perceive it on Friday when a sound recording of around fifty minutes was broadcast. It is taken from the call to 17 from Julie, the first hostage of the terrorist Radouane Lakdim. While she had been held for almost forty minutes, Lieutenant-Colonel Beltrame was heard speaking to the assailant through the door. “The little lady, she has nothing to do with it, we’ll make an exchange,” he suggests several times.
The negotiation lasts around ten minutes. We feel the terrorist disconcerted. ” In its place ? Serious ? Come on, I’ll shoot you,” he blurted. From distrust, Radouane Lakdim moves to disbelief. “Are you ready to die?” Die for France? » The gendarme’s voice becomes clearer and clearer as he gets closer to the door and the hostage. He does not give the terrorist the choice to accept this exchange, he imposes it. “I have a grenade, I’ll pull it,” the assailant warns him. But Arnaud Beltrame does not tremble and a few moments later enters the room while Julie walks away.
“Justice is a heavy responsibility and a heavy burden”
From these almost three hours face to face, we will know practically nothing. Only his last moments were captured by GIGN. While Radouane Lakdim is on the phone with the negotiator, Arnaud Beltrame probably decides to intervene. He yells “Attack!” Assault! Assault! » But his words are not understood, neither by the negotiator nor by the columns posted in front of the room. The order was given to intervene eight long minutes later. Seriously injured in the throat, Arnaud Beltrame died during the night.
“As a little brother, it reassures me that he really stood up against Islamist terrorism,” confides his younger brother, Damien. Above all, he expected answers from this trial. “Knowing that he had died fighting, that he had not given up,” reassured him.
The young man, like his mother, does not hide the hope of an “exemplary”, “very harsh” sentence. “Justice is a heavy responsibility and a heavy burden,” the president replied in a soft voice. In the box and in the dock, no one appears for “complicity”. The seven suspects are accused of having, to varying degrees, provided assistance to the terrorist.