TRIBUTE – Several hundred people came to participate this Sunday, September 15 in Grenoble in a silent march in tribute to Lilian Dejean, a municipal employee shot dead a week ago by a man still on the run.
In Grenoble, emotion and anger during the tribute to Lilian Dejean, the municipal employee shot dead
Organised by the victim’s family, the march left shortly after midday from Boulevard Jean Pain, where the tragedy took place, to reach the neighbourhood where Lilian Dejean grew up, the Olympic Village, in the south of Grenoble, making a detour to the urban cleaning office where he worked.
Before the procession left, Jean-Marc Dejean, one of the victim’s brothers, thanked the audience for being there and hoped that the march would go ahead. “in kindness and tranquility”. He even invited participants to take tongs and garbage bags to “pick up one or two pieces of trash on the road.” “I think that where he is, (Lilian Dejean) would also have liked his city to be made clean, both literally and figuratively.”he added.
Garbage bags were made available to participants, and several people began picking up waste during the march, an AFP journalist noted.
“The violence must stop”
In the procession, in the presence of the green mayor Eric Piolle and other elected officials, Virgile Comella, friend and colleague of Lilian Dejean for more than 25 years, came “to pay him a great tribute”. “He was someone who was involved in the Grenoble town hall. He set up urban cleanliness, he was involved in the unions. He was a pillar of the town hall.”he told AFP.
Red rose in hand, Evelyne Clavel, 73, is there “for the family”. She denounces “a crime because the person comes to work and is shot like an animal”she explains.
“The violence has to stop, I have never seen so much violence as now”she deplores, while the Alpine metropolis was marked during the summer by numerous acts of violence and shootings between drug traffickers.
A banner hanging from a footbridge near the scene of the murder reads: “A man of values, victim of violence that has become too commonplace”.
« Your big heart stole your life”
A woman participating in the march holds a placard that reads: “Lilian Dejean, your big heart stole your life”with the word heart drawn.
Lilian Dejean, a 49-year-old father, was shot in the chest early on September 8 as he tried to prevent a man who had caused a traffic accident while driving a powerful rental car with Polish plates from fleeing.
The municipal employee died shortly after in hospital. His death sparked immense emotion among his colleagues and residents, who had paid him vibrant tributes the day after the murder. His remains were handed over to his family this week by investigators and are expected to be buried on Wednesday in Guadeloupe.
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