“It’s a dream that came true”: Antoine Bayle, the new recruit of the PGHM of Ariège

“It’s Tadej Pogačar.” It’s true that with his long straight hair, his smooth twenty-something face and his large Tour de France edition sunglasses, Antoine Bayle has a bit of a Slovenian look. The latest arrival at the Ariège PGHM, the 23-year-old boy led, with his colleagues from Savignac-les-Ormeaux, a day of training with the gendarmes and emergency doctors of the department last Thursday. The opportunity to fully take up your duties as a starter a short month after your assignment. “I was G.A.V. [gendarme adjoint sur le terrain] in Bourg-Saint-Maurice for a little less than two years, just before entering gendarmerie non-commissioned officer school in Chaumont, then at the Annecy squadron for two and a half years where I passed all the qualifications to take the tests [d’entrée aux unités de montagne]. It worked this year, 8 of us were selected. I was incorporated into the Savignac platoon on November 16,” explains the boy, in the cabin leading to the Ax-3-Domaines slopes.

Also read:
“Take one step forward, probe!” : A day at the heart of the Ariège high mountain gendarmerie platoon

“Being a first aider was a vocation”

An accomplishment for this Burgundian, who always dreamed of joining the mountain rescue elite. “Being a first aider was a vocation. […] When I was little, my parents and grandparents took me to the mountains a lot during school holidays, especially in the summer. When you see the helicopter above you, it makes you want it. […] Joining the peloton is not for everyone. It’s a dream come true.”

Also read:
Sani Pakush, Piolet d’Or, “Brothers in arms”… A big name in mountaineering joins the PGHM in Ariège

And since his arrival, Antoine has been thrown straight into the deep end, with very significant activity from the first weekend in December due to heavy snowfall. “It’s clear that we’re in the thick of things here and it’s very motivating. That’s why I’m here.”

Also read:
Savignac-les-Ormeaux: a new recruit assigned to the Ariège PGHM

Third young recruit to arrive in less than a year at Savignac-les-Ormeaux after Alexis Allard and Pierrick Fine, Alexandre Bayle comes to strengthen a team in full renewal. “The driving force is youth, it really does us good,” underlines Lieutenant Jean-Marc Galin, commander of the Ariège PGHM, with a smile. “It pushes us. Then young people are demanding, we need action, we need to keep them busy.” Arrivals which also demonstrate the very strong enthusiasm for this profession, which is so selective. “We have always been attractive. We save lives, it’s gratifying. There are 260 emergency gendarmes in France, so the selection is tough. Yes, there are people who want to come home to us but it’s very difficult.”