The chivalry of France’s murdered policeman

There’s one word you may not hear in connection with the death of Lt-Col Beltrame who died last night, the fourth victim of the 25-year-old Islamist gunman, Redouane Lakdim. And that word is chivalry.

The reason why the police officer died from wounds he sustained in the shootout, in which Lakdim was killed, was that he volunteered to take the place of a woman hostage. When the gunman took over the Super-U supermarket in Carcassonne, he held one woman back to use as a human shield. And remarkably, Lt-Col Beltrame offered to take the woman’s place. Surprisingly, the gunman allowed him to do so. He left his mobile phone with an open line on a table where other officers could monitor what was happening – and that led to them ending the siege by force.

Le lieutenant-colonel Arnaud Beltrame nous a quittés.
Mort pour la patrie.
Jamais la France n’oubliera son héroïsme, sa bravoure, son sacrifice.