“The goal is to start from historical facts and say what the police would have done today. »
Vincent Bretagnolle, the city’s heritage manager and Commander Guillaume Toullier of the National Police. Together, they recount and dissect these various facts, found “in the municipal archives, in court or even in the press of the time”, by the history buff. “The goal is to start from historical facts and say what the police would have done today, to show the differences between before and now,” adds the commander.
Fight, murder, disappearance
First stop, Place Camille-Godard. Two cases are presented. They took place in what was at the time “a garden, which itself was a cemetery. Here, we were on the outskirts of the city,” explains Vincent Bretagnolle.
In 1892, a fight broke out during a ball between two women over an issue of dresses. Beatings, throwing bottles. Result: an injured man. The opportunity for the police to return to the place of alcohol and the management of drinking establishments in the city and to remind the public of the Crunch, a pub on rue Henri-Fichon, closed in 2022, haunt of the local rugby world. “We need to ensure safe nightlife for young people and local residents,” says Guillaume Toullier.
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1917. A soldier on leave attacks a homeless man with a trench knife. Imprisoned in the military regiment, he escapes but is caught. “How many cases do the police deal with each year here? », questions a spectator. “We have loyal customers,” replies the police commander ironically.
“It’s above all an excuse to look at the city. »
The walk continues at the entrance to the Public Garden via rue Dupuy. The story is bloodier. 1880, IIIe Republic. Jules-Isaac Huort kills his grandmother. After a series of blows, she died hours later. The young man confesses to the crime but pleads insanity. Attack in May, trial in June, guillotined in September. “Expeditious,” says Guillaume Toullier.
The story allows us to tell the evolution of the search for evidence at crime scenes and the work of the Technical and Scientific Police. To also recall the psychological expertise which punctuates certain procedures or even to evoke the place of the scaffold in Charente.
On Place Camille-Godard, the commander of the National Police answers questions from Cognac residents about local security.
CL
A police force outside the walls
“It’s a very well constructed visit, you can imagine the scene and the parallel with modern news is interesting and I like the news items. » Ninon is a regular visitor to the City of Art and History service. She braved the cold to listen to these stories, ultimately not so far from those that can be told in CL.
“I don’t censor myself a lot, but on these subjects, I do it a little, by choosing cases from a long time ago,” explains Vincent Bretagnolle who has already organized visits on this theme. “It’s above all an excuse to look at the city. » “I am very focused on the police outside the walls, because we are in the heart of the city, we are a public service and we must answer questions,” adds Commander Toullier.
Finally, head to the war memorial, for a matter of morals. A young middle-class girl who married and then separated forms a relationship with a man, who suggests that she move in with other women. She disagrees and tries to kill him with a gun. Missed, but one ear less for the pretender with immoral ideas. She is defended by a star of the bar and acquitted.
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Last case, that of Mr. Renard, whose clothes were discovered on the banks of the Charente. Suicide, disappearance to escape problems? Rumors are rife. Finally, his body was discovered a month later. He had indeed ended his life.
Coming with City of art and history
Among the future events to note, Sunday January 12 at 3 p.m., a visit will follow in the footsteps of the location of the town hall in the city, from the Middle Ages to today. January 18 at 5:30 p.m., a conference on the youth of our good Francis Iis. On January 24, at 6 p.m., a unique tour of the media library is offered on the occasion of Reading Nights. The route will allow you to unravel the mysteries of this monument. The Lyric Workshop of the Grand Cognac Conservatory will also be there.
