The silhouette of a man is roughly drawn on the ground in orange paint. Sand was scattered to erase the traces of blood lost by Eric Masson, a 36-year-old police officer, shot on Wednesday evening in the historic center of Avignon (Vaucluse) during a police operation. Absolute calm reigns this Thursday morning near the small parking lot on rue Râteau where the sergeant lost his life. Local residents, neighborhood elders or simple onlookers shyly approach the scene. Among them, three high school students, terminal students in a nearby establishment, say they are “touched” by the tragedy and have contributed to buy a flowerpot that they place near the place where Eric Masson's head rested: "We took advantage of the interval to come and collect ourselves". "It is so violent, I am deeply moved and shocked",this forty-something comes forward to put two small bouquets of rosebuds.
Still upset, Alain
(the first name has been changed)
buries his face in his hands when he thinks back to the events of the day before. The windows of this retiree overlook rue Râteau. “I heard two detonations. I rushed to see. I thought it was kids playing. But I saw the policeman on the ground and his colleagues collapsed in tears, ”testifies this neighbor. The man may have seen the alleged murderer leaving the scene. “I saw a guy in a black tracksuit run at full speed, jump over a low wall and run away down an alley. But I didn't have time to see his face, ”he regrets. Late in the evening, Alain went to drop off at the police station.
Shortly before noon this Thursday, the area is cordoned off by the municipal police.
Behind the rubalises, technicians from the technical and scientific police are busy in their white overalls to reconstruct the elements of the drama.
"Fear of reprisals": neighbor taken to task, fire in a stairwell, flat tires
It is almost 6.30 p.m. Wednesday evening when Brigadier Eric Masson and his colleagues are called: residents have reported nuisance around a known deal point on rue des Teinturiers, the heart of the old town of Avignon. On their arrival, all is calm but the police officers in civilian clothes decide to organize a discreet surveillance of the point of sale and divide themselves into two teams. That of Eric Masson then attends a sale of cannabis resin to a client. They follow the young woman whom Brigadier Masson calls out to rue du Râteau, "armband in hand", specifies Philippe Guémas, public prosecutor of Avignon.
"Two individuals then advanced in the direction of the two police officers and one of the two, carrying a satchel, asked the police officers what they were doing there," indicates the magistrate. While Brigadier Masson again declined his status as a police officer, the individual carrying the satchel took out a weapon. The man shoots twice in the direction of Eric Masson who collapses, hit in the chest and abdomen, before succumbing a few minutes later. Eric Masson's colleague shoots twice, without succeeding in preventing the shooter and his accomplice from fleeing. This Thursday evening, two suspects are still at large, while the client arrested by Eric Masson remains in police custody.
In addition to the emotion that reigns in the old town, it is the anger of the inhabitants that resurfaces.
For several years now, some have been denouncing this trafficking in front of their homes and businesses, the incivility and nuisance involved in these gatherings around narcotics points of sale.
Many list the letters and registered letters sent for so long to the prefecture or town hall to demand video surveillance devices and an intensification of police patrols in their neighborhood.
Read also Drug trafficking: France has 3,952 deal points
But the rare residents and traders who want to express themselves refuse to give their exact identity. By “fear of reprisals”, we repeat. Here a neighbor taken to task with his children, there a fire in a stairwell after a denunciation to the authorities. “For several months, these young people had set up their camping tables and chairs under my windows. They drank alcohol and turned on the music, ”he says. His reports to the authorities end up triggering regular patrols and finally force the dealers to change point of sale. But not without leaving Alain a memory: “They punctured my car tires! "
A few steps away, a shopkeeper tells us about the back door of his store fractured by dint of bitching against his young people who "squat" in his street.
“They used to hide their bags of merchandise above my back door,” he says.
I even imagined buying a dummy camera to dissuade them from setting up near my store.
"
When she walks her dog in the winding streets of her neighborhood, Aline
(the name has been changed)
, avoids certain streets.
“At night, there are people, we hear cries, they call out to us,” says this 70-year-old retiree.
"We feel abandoned", deplores for her part this shopkeeper who regrets a "living together marred by insults and daily fights". If he recognizes these tensions that he has been denouncing regularly for six years to the authorities, a real estate agent tempers: “There is a good atmosphere, everyone knows each other, helps each other. But it is true that in the evening the district changes. He adds: "I am angry with the utilities that let them set up. "
