“That day, a family was destroyed”, strong emotion during the tribute to the farmer and her daughter killed in Pamiers

One year ago today, on January 23, 2024, the agricultural demonstration in Ariège came to an abrupt end. Two people, Alexandra, a farmer in Saint-Félix-de-Tournegat, and her 12-year-old daughter, Camille, lost their lives on a dam installed on the RN 20, near Pamiers.

This tragedy, which occurred in the early morning, is due to a driver having bypassed the cones and barriers set up three kilometers upstream to prevent access to the 2 x 2 lanes. By forcing the blockade and hitting at high speed the wall of straw bales erected by the members of the Departmental Federation of Farmers’ Unions of Ariège and by the Young Farmers 09, “the anger of the agricultural world has given way with great sadness”, says Sébastien Durant, president of Fdsea 09 and mayor of Saint-Félix-de-Tournegat.

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A year later, no one has forgotten. The memory of this tragedy is in everyone’s minds. When meeting for a ceremony paying tribute to the two victims, this Thursday, January 23, 2025, near the Bouriette roundabout, the 500 people present, Jean-Michel Sonac and his daughter in the lead, had heavy hearts. and misty eyes.

A stele so as not to forget

Before unveiling the stele, in tribute to Alexandra and Camille Sonac, several speeches and times of contemplation followed one another. Approaching the place where the stele is installed, Bastien explains its presence: “My parents ran the buffalo farm and Alexandra had worked for them. She was a great person. A great person.” The thirty-year-old continues, not without emotion in his voice: “Today, the need to come together is palpable. Alexandra and Camille were appreciated by everyone. We see people who are still very marked. There are perhaps even more people who cry only during the white march.”

Accompanied by his daughter, Jean-Michel Sonac moved forward, deeply marked by this new ordeal. Without words, he showed his pain at returning to where his wife and eldest daughter lost their lives, while demonstrating true strength in order to support his daughter. Sébastien Durant, in his speech, necessarily hard to proclaim, remembers: “That day, a family was destroyed while they were there to show the anger of our profession. I remember that, a few hours before the launch at the roadblock, Alexandra called me to tell me that she was coming with Jean-Michel and Camille. She was happy to come.

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Between moving testimonies and poignant music, emotion took over the faces present. At the moment of discovering the stele of his sheet, Jean-Michel Sonac’s emotion is too strong. Sébastien Durant, modestly and friendly, places his hand on his shoulder to try to comfort him. “No one can imagine what he has been feeling for a year,” admits Cédric, a farmer in Montferrier.

At the end of the ceremony, each person present placed a white rose at the foot of the stele, to honor the memory of the two victims but also to support Jean-Michel and his daughter. Before leaving the premises, the father stood straight in front of the stele, with his daughter in his arms, surrounded by the agricultural world. This strong moment, suspended in time, ended with a kiss placed on the stele, before discreetly meeting again on his farm.