« He was a lover of public affairs, of the general interest. He had very clear positions, sometimes firm and he was never afraid of being unpopular. », Testified Serge Dupessey, Chablaisian politician. This lover of public affairs was Pierre Marchal, a mathematics teacher but above all an opposition politician in the municipality of Evian-les-Bains in 1995. He was killed on the evening of December 27, 1995, with a shot in the back while working in the office of his family home in Lugrin. This room overlooks the back of the house, the garden is bordered by the Tonkin railway line.
A dismissal pronounced by Justice
The files on which he was working must concern the current affairs of the commune of Evian, since if Pierre Marchal had served two mandates with the majority, he was a member of the opposition at the time of the events. On the other hand, the investigators were never able to make the link between the facts which took place and any rivalry. A dismissal of the case was, moreover, pronounced in 2000 regarding this legal case.
According to the various testimonies collected, Pierre Marchal was a man very involved in local community life, a teacher invested in his students and an elected official strongly involved in school affairs as well as construction. He had, on numerous occasions, negotiated market studies with promoters who did not share all of his interests. It is then possible that the chosen one made some enemies at that time.
A bullet fired about fifteen meters away
Regarding the circumstances of his death: they still remain unclear. The shooter would have used a 22 long rifle at a distance of approximately 15 meters from the window to which Pierre Marchal had his back turned. After being hit in the shoulder, the elected official died of a hemorrhage in the left lung. Alone at home at the time of the events, he should have spent the evening around a fondue, accompanied by his loved ones. His home was in Lugrin, facing the lake, along the national road between Evian and Saint-Gingolph.
Several avenues are mentioned by the investigators: the gesture of an unbalanced person, revenge or a settling of scores? No clue will allow them to determine the motive for this assassination, even if footprints were found on site, it is not possible to draw any conclusions whatsoever.
Another notable fact is that the Prosecutor's Office will communicate very little about the investigation with the media. According to information at the time, a dispute with the local press was the cause of this silence. So no conclusions will be published in the media, nor the results of the ballistic investigation, the hearings of witnesses or the autopsy report will be revealed.
