On March 2, 2022, two agents of the DIR Centre-Est (Interdepartmental Roads Directorate) were killed on the RN90. In the middle of a security operation, Raoul Martin and Emmanuel Houillon were knocked down by a motorist near La Bâthie. 28 months later, Morgane, Manu’s daughter-in-law, her mother Catherine, Manu’s wife and two agents of the DIR Centre-Est, former colleagues, meet around the stele erected at the scene of the tragedy. Between words and tears, they recount their suffering and this terrible feeling of having been abandoned by the state.
The news has finally come, carried by waves of silence: two and a half years after the events, the perpetrator of the accident will be brought before the Albertville criminal court in October for involuntary manslaughter. A relief for Morgane: “Since the accident, my life has been a struggle, I have not started my mourning. I am not expecting a fine or a prison sentence, I just want to be able to turn the page and open a new chapter in my life. “. His mother, moved, says: “ I’m terrified, I’m going to have to learn to accept seeing this person, looking at him without screaming at him all the harm he’s done to us. I have a lot of pain inside me, I wish he could feel it » The two women add: “ For two and a half years, he has been presumed innocent, we are just asking for recognition of his guilt “. The person responsible for the accident never called them. Never apologized. Not a word.
And little more from the State and the hierarchy. Worse. Catherine learned of Emmanuel’s death through social networks: “ Those responsible were unable or unwilling to do so for me. say “. And in July 2023, she received a letter from the DIRCE telling her that her husband was unfit for work and that he would no longer be able to work for them: “ They apologized profusely, but I took it as mistreatment, not a simple hiccup. ».
“Will I go home tonight?” »
Catherine and her daughters, Morgane, Laura and Romane, had the unwavering support of Manu’s former colleagues… but very little help from the state. So they decided to transform the negative into a positive by creating the collective “for the families of road and highway agents killed in service”: “ We will take on the work that the State does not do and help families in pain to overcome the ordeals ».
Vincent and Thierry’s eyes light up as they listen to the two women. After the tragedy, the minister came, signs were put up… but little more “ People are not sufficiently aware of the fragility of employees on the road. Due to a lack of resources implemented, prevention is insufficient. As for repression, for the same reasons, there is less surveillance. Every day we are observers of road users unaware of the dangers to which they expose us and themselves.s». « Avant, explains Thierry, when I left for work, there was a diffuse fear. Now it’s an everyday fear. Will I come home this evening? I have this chance, not my colleagues ».
And all four, in their own way, will prolong the memory of a father, a husband, a work companion. So that we don’t forget them.
Johan Fabin
