Eric Masson was killed in the center of Avignon, while he was participating in a routine operation.
He and his team were sent to intervene on a known deal point in the city center.
A classic operation which this time turned into a tragedy: a man took out a weapon, and shot the sergeant.
Read also: Violence is unleashed against the police institution, targeted by hatred that has become ordinary
In the city center of Avignon, a few hundred meters from the famous Palace of the Popes, the shocked inhabitants describe a contrasting district.
Avignon has a pretty city center with narrow streets and low rise buildings.
It "
attracts Parisians
", has been renovated, and - until March 2020 at least - lives to the rhythm of its shops and bars.
"
Only there are a lot of dealers, a lot of zonards,"
explains Emmanuel, a 40-year-old resident.
We see them, in more or less numerous groups.
When you have teenage daughters, it's not pleasant,
”explains the father.
Read also: Policeman killed in Avignon: four suspects, including the alleged shooter, arrested after 96 hours of tracking
"I have the impression that the law does not protect me"
Already in September 2020, the manager of the Thiers café, an establishment located about 300 meters from the scene of the tragedy, expressed her anger in a video posted on Facebook. "In
recent years, we have had a point of deal at the intersection of rue Amphoux, it is not about two or three people, but fifteen or twenty,
" she protested. "
We are all going to blow a lead, I have the impression that the law does not protect me
", continues the young woman who confides to have already been molested. In front of the camera, the manager addresses the parents of the neighborhood: “
your kids, I see them passing by, every day, they are called to be offered m ****; and I see some who are not more than 14 years old start to stop!
"
For Sophie, 29, who lives a few blocks away, downtown isn't safe.
“
In the evening, I avoid going out alone, I try to be accompanied by someone.
As for rue Thiers, I avoid it altogether,
”she said, stressing however that she had never been bothered by the dealers.
“
They do their business in their corner.
But consumers are completely uninhibited, when you're a girl, street harassment is all the time,
”she says.
Deal points exist, but like everywhere in France.
But we are not in a lawless zone, it is not Soweto
A seller
This observation is put into perspective by a downtown merchant, who has always been from Avignon.
“
The points of deals exist, but like everywhere in France, he
puts
into
perspective.
People are shocked, and that's normal, but we are not in a lawless zone, it is not Soweto
”.
However, the merchant recognizes the presence of a population of "
marginalized
", "
painful for the customers
".
However, in his eyes the situation is not deteriorating, he even sees an improvement since the renovation of the city center began.
The city center of Avignon, near the scene of the tragedy, a few hours later.
CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU / AFP
Yann Combe, police officer and UNSA-Police union representative for the department, agrees. “
Points of sale have always existed
,” he explains. According to him, the one on which Eric Masson was killed was one of the 3,952 points of deals identified in France by the Ministry of the Interior. “
Throughout the eastern part of downtown
[where Eric Masson was killed],
there is no camera. The city is crisscrossed with poorly lit alleys. The police try to saturate as much as possible, to put pressure on a daily basis, but we miss it,
”he explains. For the policeman, the novelty is in the use of a weapon. "
On a point of downtown deal, it is really worrying
", he advances before underlining with caution: "
let's wait to see the profile of the killer
”.
