“We love you and we will never forget you. » Deeply moved, in tears, Thomas’ family and loved ones paid a final tribute on Friday to the 16-year-old high school student, killed on the sidelines of a village festival in Drôme, during a funeral ceremony at the collegiate church. from Saint-Donat-sur-l’Herbasse.
Two thousand people according to the prefecture, including Thomas’ rugby comrades dressed in their blue jerseys, listened in profound silence to the testimonies read inside the church of this village located around ten kilometers from the scene of the tragedy. . “Thomas was a good boy, reserved, well-mannered and helpful” who “enjoyed life to the fullest”, loved “skiing, rugby and fishing”, said his grandfather at the start of the ceremony, broadcast by loudspeakers in the crowded square of the too-small church.
But on the night from Saturday to Sunday, “a gang of thugs who had a knife instead of his heart took his life” plunging the family “into indescribable sadness”, he chokes before wishing that “these young people, savages” be “chastised”. “I am impatiently awaiting the verdict of justice” but “it will never give me back my Thomas,” he said before bursting into tears.
“The entire territory was affected by this tragedy”
“We promise you to enjoy life as you would have liked to do it,” said one of the teenager’s friends during the ceremony, remembering “the pool days” at Thomas’s, “the seaside vacations” and the “motorcycle outings”. Thomas’ cousin, born on December 6, the same day as him, explained, in a blank voice: “this date linked us every year, we wished it for each other, it was our little ritual.” “We will not replace the lost child but it is important for me to be there” to “collect, to support the family”, explains, very moved, Gilbert Mounier-Véhier, the first deputy of the town hall of Saint- Donat. “The entire territory was affected by this tragedy,” he said.
A funeral vigil took place Thursday evening in the Crépol church. The day before, more than 6,000 people took part in a large white march in Romans-sur-Isère, linking the Dauphiné high school where the teenager studied to the rugby stadium where he played.