It’s a date that Thierry Noguet, mayor of Montoir-de-Bretagne in Loire-Atlantique, was impatiently awaiting. The Saint-Nazaire criminal court was trying the alleged perpetrator of the death threats made against him a year ago. An affair that turned his life and that of his wife upside down.
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Thierry Noguet has just spent a trying year lived “under cover”. Placed under police protection for four months, the mayor of Montoir-de-Bretagne impatiently awaited this trial so he could turn the page and move on. The elected official has always displayed unfailing determination to denounce the violence suffered by politicians.
A man supported and well supported for this express audience. The elected officials girded with their scarves as a sign of solidarity were numerous this Friday morning author of him.
The Saint-Nazaire criminal court judges this November 22 the alleged author of the death threats made in November 2023.
After several violent anonymous messages, the elected official received an email addressed to him on the municipality's website.
“I collapsed.Today, I'm not in the same state of mind. It'swas really very violent. As much as the previous messages were aggressive, this one took on another dimension”, says the elected official from Montoir-de-Bretagne.
The perpetrators could have been Daesh or Al-Qaeda. In the end, I rotted in hell. It was really trashy. When you're not prepared for that, it's not easy. And I wasn't prepared for that
Thierry NoguetMayor of Montoir-de-Bretagne
A traumatic episode for the mayor, but also for his wife. “First, there is astonishment and then incomprehension. We don't deserve this. Nobody deserves this.”confides Raymonde Noguet.
We were very well surrounded by all the investigators, by all the protocols, but I only felt good at home and locked up. I didn't want to see anyone anymore, I didn't want to meet anyone anymore, because I didn't trust anyone anymore.
Raymonde NoguetWife of Thierry Noguet
“I'm afraid of not getting the result I'm expecting. Namely recognition of our victim status, and I don't want to know anything about the motivations, why he did it”continues Raymonde Noguet.
We suffered and paid the high price
Raymonde NoguetWife of Thierry Noguet
Encouraged by those around him, Thierry Noguet files a complaint, his life is turned upside down. For several months, the elected official was placed under police protection. His phone is tracked, his movements restricted. Concern spreads to his colleagues.
“It’s true that it wasn’t easy, and it’s still anxiety-inducing. Even us, as employees, were not very reassured. We see so many things, packages that are left at reception or in terms of mail, envelopes. The situation was very complicated to manage”, confides Isabelle Jacquemard, town hall secretary.
The municipal agenda is shaken up, “aIn terms of appointments, we made fewer appointments. In terms of calendars, there was less calendar sharing. It’s true that a lot of things have changed. Today we are returned to more or less normal activity., entrust the employee.
In March 2024, a man was arrested in Maine-et-Loire.
He is a former executive of the Yara chemical fertilizer production plant located in Montoir-de-Bretagne and against which the elected official has been fighting for years.
An arrest which relieves Thierry and Raymonde Noguet but the trauma is still very present.
I still have after-effects. Today, when we go to a restaurant, we always go to pretty much the same places. I always sit in front of the door to see who comes in and who goes out.
Thierry NoguetMayor of Montoir-de-Bretagne
The family home is transformed into a fortress. The couple lived cloistered for many months.
“Actually, I was always on my phone. Thierry was instructed to tell me where he was going, where he was going to arrive, he had to keep me informed of all his journeys.explains Raymonde.
If he wasn't at his appointment on time, I had a protocol to follow, measures to take. So that's all I did
Raymonde NoguetWife of Thierry Noguet
Daily life is heavy, nothing is peaceful. Camera installation, close protection for four months. A life under close surveillance that turns everything and everyone upside down.
My daughter-in-law gave birth at the end of December and obviously, we were happy about it, except that the joy was limited since we, in order not to export the danger to the outside, we remained cloistered there. So now, we're trying to make up for lost time, but time lost he never recovers
Thierry NoguetMayor of Montoir-de-Bretagne
A hellish parenthesis that he would like to definitively close today.
“When we settle down, we say to ourselves, it's not possible that I could have experienced that. We, the victims, we are forgotten. What we experience intimately is not recognized. I will not forgive. I don't want anything hear why and how he did it. I remember the fact that it was he who made us live like that for a year.” Raymonde Noguet will not forget.
Thierry Noguet never gave up, never thought of resigning. He even plans to return in 2026. “Llife goes on, you know, the administrators, the collaborators, need the presence of the mayor. So, I haven't stopped my activities yet. So, I moved around less, because that inevitably involved law enforcement. JHe didn't want to bother everyone in the organization.”
I had normal activity. We may have restricted the meetings a little. The activities between the committees, etc., continued, because life simply goes on
Thierry NoguetMayor of Montoir-de-Bretagne
“I encourage him to continue so as not to be left with a defeat. LVoters who voted for him do not have to pay the price for the actions of an outsider who prevented the city from progressing. I push him to represent himself and I hope not to relive the same thing”, adds Raymonde Noguet.
Their project now? “Going to America from the South for the holidays. Because it is, as I always say, my second homeland. Find the people we love, who we haven't seen for two years now. Since I was elected mayor, ultimately, we go there less often. And then there, it’s really going to be an escape for us. And we need it. So this will really do us some good. And we can't wait to get there.” souffle Thierry Noguet.
A trip also to finally breathe…The couple was waiting for an exemplary court decision. In the end, a fine of 1000 euros for the author of the death threats. 4,500 euros in damages for the mayor, 2,500 for his wife and a ban on appearing in the town of Montoir-de-Bretagne and approaching Thierry Noguet for three years. No reprieve. A very light sentence for the elected official who exceptionally spoke at the end of the hearing. Questioning the public authorities, the elected official declared ; “our work is not recognized, there will be a vocations crisis in 2026”. A declaration greeted with thunderous applause. The inaudible accused who pleaded guilty apologized in a very low voice, without convincing anyone.
“I am angry; This is not a good signal to give to future elected officials. Honestly, I'm a little stunned by all this.”blurted the mayor in the hall of the Saint-Nazaire court.
I find that this opens the door to total impunity. I just see a fine. Money isn't everything!
Thierry NoguetMayor of Montoir-de-Bretagne
“I thought there would have been a slightly harsher sanction, even a suspended prison sentence, just to mark the occasion.” Thierry Noguet leaves the court, an injured man. A mayor “who needs to digest the judgment” which has just fallen.
With Myriam N'Guénor
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