Philippe Monguillot, the driver killed in Bayonne: « barbaric acts which have no excuse »

Philippe Monguillot, beaten in his bus by passengers, died Friday of his injuries, at the age of 59.

He had been in a desperate state since Sunday July 5, the day of his assault. The bus driver beaten up by a group of people in Bayonne died on Friday July 10, 2020. “We decided to let him go. The doctors were for, and so were we, « her daughter Marie Monguillot announced to a correspondent for Agence France-Presse, while her mother Véronique announced on social networks: » My husband died at 5.30 p.m. , RIP, my love.  »

The widow, Véronique Monguillot is now calling on the courts to pronounce « exemplary sentences » against her alleged attackers.

According to the Bayonne prosecution, Philippe Monguillot was the victim of an « extremely violent » assault when he wanted to control the ticket of one person and demanded the wearing of the mask for three others. Aged 22 and 23 and known to the police, two men suspected of having carried out the beating were indicted for attempted attempted murder and imprisoned. Two other individuals, in their thirties, were imprisoned and charged, in particular for « failure to assist a person in danger ».

On Wednesday evening July 8, some 6,000 people dressed in white participated in a march in tribute to the victim, marching behind the wife and the three daughters of the victim.

« To those people who took my father’s life, my mother’s life, our life, that they pay for, but hard. I want them to suffer. I want them to feel this that we feel there now, « said one of the victim’s daughters to RTL’s microphone. « We took it away, we didn’t ask for anything, he went to work and he died. We can’t take someone’s life for a transport ticket, » lashed Véronique, the wife of the victim, the day after the tragedy.

The Minister of the Interior went to Bayonne on Saturday where he met the family of the victim, and promised measures « for drivers from all over France ».

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin sent a firm message on Saturday to Bayonne, where a bus driver died in an attack, saying « the solution is to reaffirm authority ».
« It is not a simple news item, » added the minister to the press, denouncing « barbaric acts which have no excuse ». « As Minister of the Interior, never the President and the Prime Minister can allow gratuitous, unacceptable violence to become commonplace. » It is, he added, an « intrinsic problem of French society ».

Upon his arrival in Bayonne, Gérald Darmanin first met the family of the bus driver who died on Friday. He then went to the town hall of the Basque city and the sub-prefecture to meet with elected officials and state representatives before speaking with drivers from the Chronobus local network.

Gérald Darmanin explained that he had asked the prefect of Pyrénées-Atlantiques to bring together local elected officials, parliamentarians and transport companies to find solutions on security.

To the victim’s family, the minister promised measures « for drivers (…) from all over France », according to the daughter of the victim Philippe Monguillot.

« He told us that he was sorry for the situation, that the government had heard us, » said the driver’s youngest daughter, Marie Monguillot, referring to this interview which lasted 30 to 45 minutes, « additional support, one more force, ”she said.

At the announcement of his death, calls for more severe sanctions followed one another in the ranks of the right, the deputy LR Éric Ciotti demanding « heavy sanctions against (the) murderers » just like the LR mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, for whom « this barbaric act calls for the most severe sanctions ». In response, the government promised firmness through the voice of its Prime Minister: « justice will punish the perpetrators of this abject crime, » said Jean Castex on twitter on Friday.

Calling the driver’s alleged attackers « scum », the president of the National Gathering, Marine Le Pen, called on Twitter « for a start and revolt in the face of this savagery ». « Kill for simply wanting to enforce the rules. This murder must not go unpunished. The sentences must be exemplary and the sentences really carried out ”, reacted on Twitter the president of the Hauts-de-France Regional Council, Xavier Bertrand (ex-LR).

For Senator Bruno Retailleau (LR): « The death of Philippe Monguillot is a tragedy […] There will be no effective fight against this savagery without a return of authority and the end of systemic laxity », he estimated on Twitter.

« When will the state react to these barbarians who kill innocent people? » Asked Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, president of Debout la France, on Twitter, calling for « restoring order ».

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