The similarities are uncanny on this anniversary.
As on February 21, 2013, police officers pursued the author of a refusal to comply.
And like on February 21, 2013, the fugitive ended up charging at them.
Only the outcome is different: 11 years ago to the day, on the Paris ring road, Boris and Cyril, two fathers aged 32 and 40 belonging to ferry 75N did not survive after their car was hit at more than 150 km/h by the drunk driver they were pursuing.
During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, the officials of the Toulon ferry (Var) got away with quite a scare.
It was around 10:40 p.m. when a patrol from the Toulon police station (Var) was sent to lend a helping hand to a ferry crew who were operating in the town of Hyères, about fifteen kilometers from Toulon, where armed people had been seen in the Val des Rougières district.
Detonations were heard.
Several calls were made by residents of the city to the police to report these facts.
Four police cars are engaged in the area when a Fiat Tipo arrives in the opposite direction at very high speed.
A chase then begins.
The car will travel nearly 3 km in the streets of Hyères crossing red lights at more than 80 km/h.
On several occasions the driver was struck by the ferry car and the police were immobilized.
The chase ends in the city center in a dead end in front of a large gate.
The Fiat reverses and violently hits the vehicle with the tray.
The shock was such that both cars were out of service.
“It is not trivial to rush into a police car in order not to comply”
The escape continued on foot.
The police rushed after the four occupants but only caught one, a 25-year-old young man from Reunion Island who was a rear passenger.
This boy is already known to the courts and was included in the wanted persons file following a previous conviction.
He is also prohibited from carrying a weapon.
It was around 11 p.m. when he was taken into custody.
In the car, the police discovered a 12-gauge shotgun and a semi-automatic pistol.
Last night in Toulon, the BAC and BST police officers were called for gunshots heard in a city.
The colleagues were refused to comply by the perpetrators who did not hesitate to hit a police car before abandoning theirs and fleeing.… pic.twitter.com/109rTZP8lE
— Linda Kebbab (@LindaKebbab) February 21, 2024
Contacted, Linda Kebbab, national delegate of the Unité SGP union, notes: “It’s a sad anniversary and we realize that since then, nothing has changed.
» The trade unionist continues: “It is not trivial to rush into a police car in order not to comply.
This act is criminal.”
The motorist who killed the two Parisian police officers in 2013 was sentenced at first instance, in November 2016, to twelve years in prison and to 15 years of imprisonment on appeal, in March 2018 for willful violence leading to death without intention of give it.