“Farewell Arnaud, farewell our hero”. The funeral of Arnaud Garcia, 34, one of the two prison guards killed during the attack on their van by a commando on May 14 in Eure, took place this Saturday morning in Blangy-le-Château ( Calvados), town where the prison officer resided. His wife, parents, friends and colleagues were present, as were nearly 500 people, to pay him a final tribute.
The bloody attack at the Incarville tollbooth (Eure) allowed the escape of Mohamed Amra, a repeat offender involved in drug trafficking, still wanted, along with his accomplices.
“Life smiled on them”
After a funeral in the presence of a small family circle, Arnaud Garcia’s coffin was transported in a hearse to the Blangy-le-Château war memorial. More than 500 people joined the procession opened by two Republican guards on horseback, accompanied by firefighters carrying their helmets in their hands as a sign of mourning.
The mayor of the town, Dorian Codge, then the sub-prefect of Lisieux, Guy Fitzer, paid tribute to Arnaud Garcia, whose “life was devoted to commitment to the service of the Republic and Justice”. A few weeks before the attack, Arnaud Garcia “beamed with happiness” when he learned that his wife was carrying their first child, remembers Dorian Codge. “Life smiled on them,” he continues.
Captain Arnaud Garcia
Arnaud “will not see his child grow up, will not see his parents age, will no longer be at his wife’s side, will no longer party with his friends, will no longer make his colleagues laugh,” lamented again, in a long speech of homage, the councilor. “We will never forget the admirable man that you were,” promised Dorian Codge, before concluding: “Farewell Arnaud, farewell our hero.”
The speeches were followed by a minute of silence. In the crowd, many people were present to show their solidarity with the family of the deceased, such as Maud Capon, president of the village merchants’ association.
Laurence Houssaye, colleague of Arnaud Garcia’s wife, made the trip from the neighboring town, Pont-L’évêque. Coming to say “a last goodbye to Arnaud”, she confided feeling “a lot of hatred and injustice”. Some elected officials were also present, such as senators Corinne Féret and Sonia de La Provôté, or even deputy Christophe Blanchet.
“Their death will not go unpunished, the investigation is progressing, it will continue as long as necessary but it will succeed,” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday during a tribute ceremony.
VideoSupervisors killed in Eure: “Their death will not go unpunished”, declares Attal during the national tribute
He then announced that Fabrice Moello, prison captain, 29 years of service, and Arnaud Garcia, brigadier supervisor, 15 years of seniority, should be respectively promoted director and captain. He had also deposited the insignia of knight of the Legion of honor on the coffins.
