Drowning in Saint-Cyr: on the first day of the trial, the cadets take refuge behind the tradition

Dressed to the nines, they swapped the military uniform for the suit and tie.

In the courtroom of the Rennes correctional court on Monday, the seven soldiers accused of manslaughter face the brother of Jallal Hami, who drowned in 2012 during a night-time bahutage activity at the Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan school (Morbihan).

A sort of rite of initiation and transmission of traditions that some detractors have compared to hazing.

On the night of Jallal Hami's tragic death, 160 first-graders had to swim across a deep pond in full combat gear.

The water was at 9 ° C, far from the summer conditions of the landing of Provence to which they were supposed to pay homage.

And especially in defiance of the most basic security measures, even though swimming was prohibited in the camp.

How in this prestigious school, showcase of the French army where order and respect for the rules are established in principle, this kind of drift could take place?

"I had to reproduce what had been done the previous year"

Three former cadets were heard on Monday by the court.

“With hindsight”, these thirties, two of whom have become captains, admit that they would do otherwise today and that “it was not a good idea”.

Officially in charge of transmitting the military heritage of Saint-Cyr, they organized for several weeks activities recorded in a march book validated by the hierarchy.

In practice, however, these young men, then 22 years old, enjoyed a great deal of autonomy and were little controlled.

In their defense, they explain that they have only been part of the continuity of secular practices.

“I had to reproduce what had been done the previous year.

This is how I was educated.

For me, it was not possible that there was a drowning ”, explained one of the defendants, Simon Pitance.

While acknowledging shortcomings, he presented himself as a simple performer.

“This absence of a notion of responsibility that I hear is not very reassuring.

You were sanctioned by the military for what happened.

Was she wrong?

"Asked Philippe Astruc, the representative of the public prosecutor.

"It suited us that the executives did not ask questions"

“For me it was a fun activity.

I had no painful memories of it and I only learned at the start of the school year that some of my comrades had lived it badly, ”for his part said Hugues De Moulins de Rochefort, co-head of the workshop.

His share of responsibility lies according to him "in a certain immaturity in the conception and preparation".

Did he deliberately conceal the nature of the activity from the hierarchy while remaining intentionally vague?

"It suited us that the executives did not ask us questions but there was no desire to conceal it".

He adds: "We knew that we had to respect schedules but I did not feel any expectation on security vis-à-vis the hierarchy".

And to point out the tolerance of Saint-Cyr on their regular swimming in the ponds.

“Was the tradition stronger than the rules?

“, Asks the president of the tribunal, Alain Kerhoas.

"With hindsight, I realize that we had an exorbitant laissez-faire", replies the third defendant Hugues Devolve.

“In Coëtquidan, everyone knows what happens at night,” a colonel from the school would have told him following the events.

Hugues Devolve left the army this summer to become a farm worker.

A decision "closely linked to this case".