Special envoy to Plantiers (Gard)
Bittersweet tears flowed much of the night, we admit without shame.
Valentin Marcone, wanted for four days for the murders of his colleague Martial Guérin and his boss Luc Teissonnière, is now in police custody in Nîmes.
And the village of Plantiers, where he resided, blocked during the entire hunt led by 350 gendarmes, gradually regained his senses, relieved but now focused on his necessary mourning.
To read also: Cévennes: the alleged author of the double murder surrendered "weary of war"
The sky is dull, still dozing above the mountains that surround the main town. Behind the town hall this Saturday morning, employees are bringing order to the garden which welcomed a large part of the inhabitants of the village on Friday evening, upon the announcement of the arrest. Not for a party, insists the mayor Bernard Mounier, but so that "
the emotions are released, that everyone is found
". The chosen one details the sequence of the evening: "
I learned the news
[of the surrender of Valentin Marcone]
very quickly, the crisis PC was installed at the town hall. The gendarmes took a few minutes to confirm, authenticate what had just happened. Then I went to see my municipal councilors. The news circulated in the village, and the messages were exchanged faster than I was able to go down the stairs! There was relief, but no “ola”. There was no euphoria,
”he repeats, but a good number of villagers cried, crossed by mixed emotions.
In the streets, alleys, and along the stream, the inhabitants are not afraid of the swarm of journalists who replaced in a few hours that of the police. They are still few in number, some still reserved. But with others, the access is easy, and the desire to speak is present, even if the mine is initially gloomy. “
What I want to say right away is that we are in mourning,
” begins a woman. “
We all know each other here… Or rather no, in the end we don't all know each
other,” another reasoned aloud, suddenly thinking about the young man from the country who had become the most wanted fugitive in France for a few days. "He
was a rather withdrawn person, he didn't go out much
», We note.
Yesterday, a woman from a neighboring village already said that she was afraid of seeing, at the trial, "
the psychiatrists find her excuses
".
But the discussion quickly returns to the days of the blockade, the villagers hastening to insist on the attitude of the police.
“
How can I tell you… It is thanks to them that life will be able to resume normally.
To see them work, to take care of us and to find the murderer, to see their dedication, it was impressive,
”said a lady.
Members of the Red Cross, whose base was installed in the Protestant temple, still wander.
With teams of psychologists, they will have supported the most overwhelmed.
During all this wait ... I was proud of this village
Bernard Mounier, mayor of Plantiers
In return, the population did all they could to help with the logistics of the operation. “
I reopened at the beginning of April, doing click and collect,
” explains a restaurateur, energetic despite the stormy night. “
I was equipped, I had a little stock. The mayor and the sub-prefect came to see me to ask for my help. I immediately accepted and we got down to work to feed the gendarmes
”, she simply reports, wanting to send a message:“
I want to tell Macron, these people need equipment! They really miss it! We have to give them blankets… And knives and forks,
”she grumbles, barely ironic.
Arrived Tuesday evening, the first units engaged, according to witnesses, had to spend a night in their vehicles, or under the stars, before security was fully assured. The next day, the local Caylou campsite, at the entrance to the village, and the lodges and inns were able to take care of all the teams taking turns. A few meters away, another landlady comes out of a beautiful, traditional inn, busy, a large bundle of sheets in her hand. She interrupts herself anyway: “
Yes, I took in the gendarmes!
»She confirms, as honored. Asked about cooperation between gendarmes and citizens, Bernard Mounier recounts the voluntary provision of equipment, rooms, reception, respect for safety instructions ... And concludes in a more intimate voice: "
Yes, during all this waiting ... I was proud of this village
”.
Consolidate "
solidarity
" in the village
The 250 inhabitants of the village of Plantiers and the surrounding hamlets will now bury their victims with dignity, the better to remember them. They are also preparing to rediscover the usual difficulties of a small village in the Cévennes, isolated, with an economic balance that is sometimes difficult to maintain. At Le
Figaro
, the mayor would like to mention “
Luc Teissonnière's sawmill, which employs four people. He was a man whose professional trajectory I admired, he had had difficult times but had held on, and the activity was there lately
”. Companies are rare. Bernard Mounier is nonetheless delighted to note that since he began his mandate last June, “
people have expressed their desire to settle here.
". And explains working on a project to install a telemedicine booth in the village: "
the doctor is a 30-minute drive away, and the hospital in Alès, more than an hour away,
" he regrets.
Whoever saw himself as a “
transitional mayor
” faced, in less than a year, two natural disasters (floods), covid-19, and finally this tragedy. That he does not consider in any way a closed file: "
we must ensure the cohesion of the village, maintain this solidarity that we have experienced in practice during these few days
". He won't say more. The wife, daughter and in-laws of the murderer - still presumed for justice - live here, not far from the families of the victims ... Powerless, devastated, they helped the investigators as much as they could. It remains for the village to decide on the common future, to rebuild on the field of ruins left by the madness of one man.
To read also: "Valentin, c'est papa, je t'aime": the father of the murderer of the Cévennes calls him to surrender
