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It is 10:38 am, this morning of March 23, when camera number 40 of the Super U de Trèbes films the arrival of a white Opel Corsa. The vehicle is traveling at a slow pace, before coming to a stop under a bushy tree. A minute later, a man dressed in a pair of mesh trousers, a light brown jacket and a navy hooded t-shirt pulls out. With a few strides, he rushes to the entrance of the supermarket, and prepares to sow four and a half hours of horror.
This man is called Radouane Lakdim. Posted since summer 2014, it no longer seemed to worry the Directorate General of Internal Security, which has several times considered ceasing its supervision for lack of evidence. Yet, this March 23, the Franco-Moroccan has indeed committed one of the most deadly jihadist attacks in the history of the country. Before arriving at the Super U de Trèbes, Lakdim has already killed Jean Mazières, a 61-year-old winemaker. He also fired on police officers returning from a jog, applying the precepts of the Islamic State to the letter.
Inside the supermarket, it takes only twenty-six seconds for Radouane Lakdim to make a new victim. One of the two butchers of the sign, Christian Medvès, 50 years old, jokes with the employee of the box number 6. The terrorist, who returns hastily from the bakery department, melts behind his back. He does not notice anything. Arm extended, he then carries his weapon to "touching end", at the back of his skull. But the shot does not go away. Lakdim reloads. In front of the fright of the cashier, who hides under the conveyor belt, Medvès turns slightly. This time, Lakdim fires, still at "touching end."
"Light a Wick"
Shop patrons understand then that they are experiencing a terrorist attack. In the field of the camera number 29, Radouane Lakdim brandishes his weapon and invokes the crowd. As mind-blowing as it may seem, a few meters away, at the number 3 box, two men continue to drop their items on the treadmill. Is it through tetany that they do not flee? The PV from CCTV leaves no doubt as to their understanding of the current scene: "We can see them blast when they both contract their shoulders and collapse slightly." At 10:40, Lakdim advances towards one of them, Hervé Sosna, retired mason of 65 years. A shot in the head, back to "touching end."
The sequel takes place in the closed room of the vault, a somewhat crazy slash from which Lakdim will not come out alive. Before entering, the jihadist throws a homemade grenade towards the island of boxes 1 and 2. It will never explode. Once inside, he discovers that the hostess of the store, Y., 39, has entrenched himself. In a satisfied tone, Lakdim launches: "Well, here's my hostage."
At an incredible audition, Y. puts precise words on his fifty-two minutes of captivity: "He looked happy to find his hostage, soon enough he told me he would not do anything to me, he asked me to find a phone. I took the one behind the room where I was. At his request, I contacted the gendarmerie of Carcbadonne. He told me to say it was a hostage-taking at the Trèbes supermarket, he told me to say it was for the brothers in Syria. "
end of the line, a woman's voice:
"The gendarmerie, I'm listening, hello …
– Yes, hello madam, my name is Y., I work at Super U to Trèbes
– Yes?
– And I am currently, uh … taken hostage by an armed gentleman. "
L Full recording of the call – which, strangely enough, is not timestamped – makes it possible to measure Radouane Lakdim's unwavering determination. Even if he does not seize directly the handset, the claims of the terrorist are easily audible: "Allah makes me a martyr. Give me a martyr, Allah. Give me a martyr […]. I'm not afraid there. Me, I want to die. " Y. interrupts: " I'm not ready for that. "" But I'm ready, " vociferates the jihadist.
To survive, Y. tries to be receptive and understanding towards Lakdim. "He asked me questions, he asked me my age, my origins, if I had children. I understood from what he was telling me that he was making a distinction between those he was going to kill and those he was going to leave alive. He told me he killed the customer in the store because he did not take it seriously. So I concentrated on having an attitude to maintain his respect. I told him that I understood his approach, I kept my cool. I was going in his direction as soon as he spoke to me. " In psychology, this process, which consists of showing an interest and a certain empathy vis-à-vis an aggressor, has a name: active listening. And the technique works. Less aggressive, Radouane Lakdim explains to Y. "that his approach was just to light a wick, to do a small action, to make his brothers want to do more violent acts." He would like "that his brothers throw a truck on the store."
The gendarmerie is still online. Radouane Lakdim now grabs the handset from time to time, to spit his propaganda: "I'll do it to the Coulibaly, I'll join my brothers, Mohammed Merah, Coulibaly, they're right […] I see that French soldiers rape children in Mali, after they have a relaxe, it is done that? [les faits concernaient la Centrafrique, un non-lieu a été prononcé le 11 janvier, ndlr]. " Later, he continues: " I represent the Islamic State, you see all bombings that you made in Syria, Iraq, Mali, you have to pay, you see. There, I have a hostage now, I'll tell you something. I know you're not going to want, you're going to bring back Abdeslam Salah [seul survivant des commandos du 13 Novembre]. I want you to release it, we make an exchange. "
Outside, the gendarmes get busy. According to the intervention report of the GIGN, which Libération was able to consult, the unit was informed at 10 h 56. It is stated: "Given the seriousness of the facts announced, Colonel Laurent P ., commanding the GIGN, solicits at 10:58 from the director of operations and employment of the DGGN, the commitment of the GIGN [basé à Versailles-Satory, près de Paris] and the immediate sending of the antenna GIGN of Toulouse. " The latter, part of the Pink City by road, is the first intervention unit to take a position at the Super U. The report states: "Twelve staff of the antenna GIGN on-call arrive on the site to 12:10 pm Eighteen more additional AGIGN gendarmes join Trèbes later. "
" No, colonel, back off! "
Meanwhile, one of the most celebrated characters in recent history came on the scene: Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, 44 years old. At 11:21, camera number 32 filmed the entrance to the shop of the first gendarmes to intervene. The PV from the video surveillance images underlines: "The progression is made by pairs, at the head of which is Lieutenant-Colonel Beltrame." A little more than three minutes later, at 11:24 and 40 seconds, camera 1 shows "Lieutenant-Colonel Beltrame both arms in the air, hands clearly visible above the head; facing the low side of the reception, behind which is the vault room and Lakdim. Immediately, a negotiation takes place between the two men. We see Lieutenant-Colonel Beltrame waving both hands down as a sign of appeasement to Lakdim, and then to his troops taking up positions behind him. "
At this moment, the fate of the Constable flips. Taking office a few hours earlier, Arnaud Beltrame was far from imagining that he would face "a soldier of the Islamic State" came to spread terror in this small town of Aude. It is alone that the lieutenant-colonel decides to negotiate his captivity against that of the hostage. In the rear, his colleagues in the gendarmerie's surveillance and intervention platoon strongly dissuade him. Some exclaim "no, colonel, back away!" or again "you do not have a bulletproof vest!" But deaf and determined, Arnaud Beltrame advance to Radouane Lakdim. An initiative that leads him straight to death. Contacted by Libération, six sources familiar with this type of intervention have difficulty in concealing their embarrbadment at the evocation of the facts. While all pay tribute to the bravery of Arnaud Beltrame, who paid with his life the liberation of Y., they insist on the character "horseman" and "unconscious" of the maneuver. Clearly, Beltrame should never have done so. "Crisis situations such as hostage-taking require the most rigorous intervention protocols. The manpower is deployed according to plans adapted to the typicity of the places, as well as to the profile of the attacker. These complex patterns are the result of a collective hierarchical elaboration, the goal of which is to achieve a release with as little damage as possible. Arnaud Beltrame is a hero, there is no doubt, but he did not act according to the rules taught. He nevertheless knew them perfectly ", regrets, very moved, a senior officer of the gendarmerie.
" There, I was really afraid "
In the vault, Lakdim, who fears to be shot down during the progression of Beltrame, now holds Y. in play. During her hearing, she recounts: he "threatened to shoot me down and a minute later he entered into negotiations with a gendarme [Beltrame, ndlr]. The gendarme was asking him exactly what he wanted but he did not have much to ask because I think he knew how it would end […]. The author put the barrel of his weapon on the temple, more precisely behind the ear […]. More [Beltrame] was moving forward, more [Lakdim] was shaking. There, I was really scared. He asked the gendarme to remove his weapon, which he did by placing it on the reception table […]. When the gendarme ended up with us at the reception, [Lakdim] asked for his weapon. The gendarme turned around, took his gun, removed the magazine, and dragged it down to us. The guy [Lakdim] saw right away that there was no charger with it. He asked for the charger. Suddenly, the gendarme executed, and he pbaded the weapon to the ground. There, [Lakdim] picked up the loader and the weapon […]. He put the magazine in the weapon. The gendarme was with us in the room. I told him "ok, I'll go out slowly". While I went away, the policeman took my place. At 11:32 and 37 seconds, camera 3 films Y. running away. "From this hour, reveals the PV from video surveillance, the action is frozen in the vault. No movement is detected by camera 3 or camera 1; that is to say, we have no information about the closed session that took place between Lieutenant-Colonel Beltrame and Lakdim. "
To understand the sequence of events, it is necessary to 'to turn to the sibylline intervention report of the GIGN. In the preamble, the document indicates that 24 GIGN personnel take off at 12 am, by helicopter, from Villacoublay airport (Yvelines). Ten minutes later, their colleagues from Toulouse will arrive on site. During the entire duration of the flight, the telephone connections will be preserved. The report emphasizes another essential point: the terrorist now has an additional weapon, the automatic pistol endowment Arnaud Beltrame, lined with a loader of 15 cartridges.
At 12:25, a shooter elite of the antenna of Toulouse is positioned in front of the door of the reception of Super U, with a distance of thirty meters. A squad of five gendarmes also moved near the reception, to intervene in case of emergency. At 12:45, Arnaud Beltrame contacted the group commander. The latter informed the GIGN by phone that Radouane Lakdim demands once again the release of Salah Abdeslam, otherwise he will blow his grenades. New bounce at 1:10 pm, the jihadist appears in the frame of the door of the vault, slightly ajar. Arnaud Beltrame serves him as a human shield, preventing the sniper from opening fire. But the door closes abruptly. At the same time, the gendarmes are ringing different phones in the hope of starting negotiations. At 1:30 pm, the intervention report of the GIGN mentions: "The use of a means of acquisition of sound through the walls makes it possible to hear T. [Radouane Lakdim, ndlr] to pray. "
About ten minutes later, the terrorist is irritated. By the voice of Arnaud Beltrame, he demands that he be given a phone charger on the counter of the reception. The lieutenant-colonel reappears in the doorway of the vault, and does "ok" with his hand. He also announces that Lakdim has two guns and a grenade. At this moment, a dilemma is born in the minds of the gendarmes. Does the GIGN antenna in Toulouse intervene alone? Or does it wait for the contingent of Ile-de-France? At 2 pm, a compromise is adopted. The commander of the GIGN gives the following instructions: "Play the supply of the charger without waiting if the terrorist gets angry. To be able to trigger an emergency badault plan in the event of a sudden deterioration of the situation inside the room. " At 14:08, Beltrame retrieves a telephone – probably his – on the counter
From the back office of Versailles-Satory, negotiators are busy establishing a telephone connection with Radouane Lakdim. After many unsuccessful attempts on the fixed lines of the Super U, a communication commits at 2:13 pm on the laptop Arnaud Beltrame. The lieutenant-colonel asks Lakdim if he can put the speaker on. The terrorist agrees:
"Hello Radouane, it's the negotiator of the GIGN."
– Yes, so I asked for an exchange, the lieutenant-colonel gendarme against Salah Abdeslam, Fleury-Merogis.
– Yes, that's what you want that, right?
– You will not be able then to exchange one of your members against one of my members?
– Ben, Radouane, you know very well that it does not happen like that, no … "
" Attack … badault , Assault "
A good minute pbades. The negotiator evokes the presence of Radouane Lakdim's mother at his side when, suddenly, Arnaud Beltrame yells: "Attack … badault, badault." It is 2:16 pm.
The rest is true relatively confused. On the telephone, the negotiator does not seem to immediately perceive that the situation escapes him. He shrieks, despite "noises of struggle and cries" (audible thanks to the speaker): "Can you hear me? Arnaud, are you there? Radouane, can you hear me? " His desperate calls, interspersed with " rattling sounds ", last several minutes. Outside, the numbers do not seem to react in the second. The contingent of Parisian GIGN has been on the site for barely a minute when Beltrame is spilling "attack … badault, badault." For lack of time to coordinate, only the gendarmes of the Toulouse antenna invest the Super U. In reading the file, it is very complicated to know the precise time between the cries of Arnaud Beltrame and the arrival Elite gendarmes in the vault. Strangely, the GIGN report never gives this indication. The PV from CCTV, however, provides a clue: at 14:24 and 30 seconds, the camera 32 films the arrival of the workforce. So 8 minutes and 30 seconds after the lieutenant-colonel's first cries, an eternity.
When the GIGN men enter the vault, Radouane Lakdim sits back to the door. Arnaud Beltrame, carrying several shots of bullet and slashed at the level of the neck, is lying on him, inanimate. The Terrorist Cries "Allah Akbar", attempts to recover. But he is finally shot. At 2:28 pm, the badault was completed and emergency first aid was provided to the lieutenant-colonel. They will not save him.
Willy Le Devin
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