Le Figaro Marseille
“We avoid the subject, because it affects us all
,” says a resident of La Bouilladisse between two puffs of cigarettes. A phrase that seems to resonate in the streets of this town of 6,000 souls today mourned by the death of Émile. Located about thirty minutes from Marseille and more than 160 kilometers from Haut-Vernet, the village still held out the hope that the child would be found alive despite long months of fruitless searching.
The discovery of the little boy's skull last Saturday, reported to the gendarmerie by a woman presented as being a hiker, plunged this Bouches-du-Rhône village back into turmoil. Émile's family, considered
"discreet"
in Le Vernet, is well known here to local residents and some traders who liven up its main avenue. The boy's maternal grandfather, Philippe V., ran an osteopathy practice there for a long time. A few meters away, his daughter and son-in-law have taken up residence in a small street hidden from view. The couple even took care to put the name of
“their”
Émile and his little sister on the mailbox.
In La Bouilladisse, there are few people who do not have a personal anecdote linking them to the family of the little boy, who disappeared on July 8 while spending his vacation in the family hamlet.
“I met the family for the first time a long time ago, my daughter had gone to school with two of their children
,” assures a resident who has lived in the village for more than four decades.
“I knew Émile and his parents well, but I can’t talk more about them
,” says a baker.
“He was supposed to return to school and be educated here in September
,” confirms the director of a school in the town welcoming her young students after the lunch break.
La Bouilladisse mourned by the death of Émile
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A dire sign of fate: Emile's death, confirmed on Sunday by the authorities, was announced to the child's relatives while they were all celebrating Easter mass together in the village church. Inside the parish, the remains of the celebrations still sit on the main altar of the building. Among the objects left for everyone to see: a table collecting the names of the faithful who volunteered to read the prayers. Attached to the recitation of the universal prayer, the signature of a certain
“Philippe”
, very probably his grandfather.
Tucked away in a corner, a small altar pays homage to Émile and his family. Many candles were lit in memory of the little boy, whose photo was placed above several candles and a few flowers.
“Rest in peace Émile”
, soberly indicate a few words left by the faithful who gather every morning in the church for a Sunday mass. Another tribute, this time organized by the town hall, should be made in the coming days upon approval of the young boy's family.
A lot of people have questions here. Residents are generally shocked by the disappearance of the child and the discovery of his bones nine months after the events. There are many gray areas around this matter
Thomas, manager of a bar in La Bouilladisse
“It's the news in the village: everyone among my customers is talking about it, some even went up to Vernet to take part in the hunts,”
assures Thomas, manager of a tobacco bar in the center of La Bouilladisse.
“A lot of people have questions here. Residents are generally shocked by the disappearance of the child and the discovery of his bones nine months after the events. There are many gray areas around this matter
,” he says, as if to put into words a feeling shared by all.
This Tuesday at the end of the day, the Aix-en-Provence public prosecutor's office and its prosecutor should provide new elements to clarify the circumstances of this macabre discovery, which has relaunched investigations bogged down for many months around a disappearance which appears still inexplicable today. Among the questions hanging on everyone's lips, residents of La Bouilladisse included: why did you pass by these bones for so long and who is this mysterious hiker?