three days in hell, told from the inside by Bernard Cazeneuve

France remembers. THE commemoration ceremonies took place this Tuesday January 7, 2025 boulevard Richard-Lenoirwhere police officer Ahmed Merabet was shot dead by the Kouachi as they fled.

Then in front of the Hyper Cacher store, where the same ritual with laying of wreaths et minute of silence was repeated.

Ten years ago, Islamist terrorism killed at the Charlie Hebdo headquarters in Montrouge and at the Hyper Cacher grocery store at Porte de Vincennes. We remember the victims, the courage of the police and the determination of France to remain standing.

Ten years ago, the former mayor of Cherbourg-Octeville (2001-2012), then Minister of the Interiorwas on the front line. Narrative.

January 7: the shock

The January 7, 2015 was to be an almost banal day, the highlight of which would be François Hollande's wishes to the religious authorities at the end of the afternoon. A Wednesday for fight against anti-Semitism et terrorism.

The official agenda of the Minister of the Interior is empty that morning. Soon, all appointments listed there for the week will be deleted. Around 11:30 a.m., two armed men attacked the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo.

THE first information are alarming. Bernard Cazeneuve learned the news from his colleagues, twenty minutes after the killing. There is deathsas Patrick Pelloux confirmed to the President by telephone, emergency doctor and columnist chez Charlie.

Very quickly, François Hollande and Bernard Cazeneuve went to the scene, in the XI^e district of Paris. The area is already cordoned off. This is not a crime scene, but a war scene. A war intended to be holy, where God would be a shadow projected by the soul of man.

In the midday hour, the former deputy mayor of Cherbourg returns Place Beauvau. A interministerial crisis unit was activated by the Prime Minister. It is at “first cop in France” that the heavy task of supervising the hunt falls.

Manuel Valls rehausse le Vigipirate plan to his highest level.

I told the various directors that no one would leave the Smoking Room until the terrorists were found.

On the floor above, in a room usually nicknamed “the Smoking Room”, another crisis unit takes place. Around a long round table, the services secretsthe policethe gendarmeriethe Raid and the GIGN are reunited.

Hearing a few years later by the Senate, Bernard Cazeneuve admitted to having then perceived “ a lack of coordination and of communication within the Ministry of the Interior, undoubtedly dictated by the idea that this or that service catches terrorists. I therefore indicated to the different directors that no one would leave the Smoking Room until the terrorists were found. And then there were the attacks of MontrougeHyper Cacher and the Sunday walk. They left this room on Tuesday morning, in a state of exhaustion. »

In the premises of Charlie and around, twelve people were killed, including two police officers, as well as the leading writers of the weekly. Between two crisis meetings, Bernard Cazeneuve leaves to find the forces deployed on the ground. Twice he goes around the three hospitals where are located the injured.

In the afternoon, the Minister of the Interior returned to the premises of Charlie Hebdobefore stopping by to greet the XI police station^e. The opportunity to greet the law enforcementto listen to the version of facts of a responsible for the crime' and take stock with the prefect of Île-de-France.

And suspect was identified. Meanwhile, France comes together in Paris and and province. The candles of hope are lit almost everywhere.

In the evening, Bernard Cazeneuve tours the Parisian editorial officesplaced under reinforced police surveillance.

“Did you suspect something? », asks him, a little desperate, an employee of Liberation. The minister responds that the danger is vast. In the evening, he has three names of suspects at his disposal. Among them, the two Kouachi brothers.

January 8: the double hunt

At the Ministry of the Interior, a sleepless night ends. All services are mobilized and on permanent alert, 24 hours a day. coordination is permanent with the Justice et the executive.

Until late at night, searches were carried out in Reims, with relatives of the Kouachis. It is the biggest manhunt never launched in France. Nearly 88,000 police officers, gendarmes andmilitary are mobilized.

By communicating information that is not accurate, we complicate things in a context where we need control and composure.

Mid-morning, Bernard Cazeneuve goes to Montrouge. A municipal police officer has just been shot dead there. An employee is seriously injured. On site the investigators have no precise description. Any connection with the killing of the day before is then impossible. One certainty, however: three heavily armed criminals are in nature.

“As Minister of the Interior, I have no right to be worried,” assures Bernard Cazeneuve, before heading towards the Police headquarters of Paris for a tribute to the police officers killed in the shooting the day before. THE national mourning is decreed. The flags are at half mast, like hearts. It is freedom that is being assassinated.

The attacks tested me because they occurred with extreme violence, even though all my energy was mobilized to ensure that they never occurred. In these circumstances, I drew part of my strength from the courage of the French, who remained dignified and united despite the ordeals.

At the prefecture, a meeting is held with François Hollande, the prosecutor and the PJ. Later, Hollande locks himself in a living room for a tête-à-tête with his Minister of the Interior. THE President is focused on two objectives: find the perpetrators of this attack and guarantee national unity.

In the afternoon, the investigation continues. Since the previous night, the photo of the Kouachi brothers has been playing in a loop on television. In his communication, Bernard Cazeneuve plays for time. We must not panic or say too much.

“Information and communication are as important as the investigation,” said the former mayor of Cherbourg. It's the same subject. By communicating information that is not accurate, we complicate things in a context where we need control and composure. »

January 9: hostage taking

In the night, the connection between the killing of Charlie Hebdo and the criminal from Montrouge, Amedy Coulibaly, is done. In the morning, everything speeds up. After a chasethe Kouachi brothers took refuge in a company in Dammartin-en-Goële (Seine-et-Marne).

Around 11 a.m., filmed by all television stations live, the head of state decided to go on foot to the Ministry of the Interior to follow the ongoing operations against the terrorists. After an hour, Hollande, Cazeneuve and Valls meet in the office of the Minister of the Interior.

Around 1 p.m., while François Hollande left for the Élysée the prefect of Île-de-France bursts into the crisis room. A hostage takingjust started Porte de Vincennesat Hyper Cacher. Bernard Cazeneuve immediately went there to get information.

At 3 p.m., Cazeneuve meets Hollande, Valls and Taubira at the Élysée. For two hours, they will follow the news minute by minute. Together, they agreed on the principle of a simultaneous intervention in Dammartin and Paris. By shooting at the police, around 5 p.m., the Kouachi brothers precipitated the assault on the gendarmerie and, at the same time, that of the police at Porte de Vincennes. The announcement of the death of the terrorists comes quickly.

Leaving the Élysée, around 6 p.m., Cazeneuve and Taubira fell into each other's arms. The Minister of the Interior goes to the Hyper Cacher, where helpintervene with the injured.

France has just experienced days which, ten years later,have not left his memory.

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