Row as France remembers troops slain in hostage raid
PARIS: France on Tuesday will pay its final respects to two commandos killed during a raid to rescue four hostages in the Sahel region of Africa last week that has sparked a row over the risks taken by the freed tourists.
French special forces Cedric de Pierrepont, 33, and Alain Bertoncello, 28, who died in the operation in Burkina Faso, will be honoured in a ceremony at the Invalides military complex in Paris on Tuesday led by President Emmanuel Macron.
The raid last week freed French hostages Patrick Picque and Laurent Lassimouillas who had been seized on May 1 while on a safari trip in a nature park in Benin close to the border with Burkina Faso.
An American citizen and South Korean tourist — both women whose presence was a total surprise to the French forces — were also sprung from captivity in the operation overnight on Thursday-Friday.
There has been an outpouring of grief in France over the sacrifice of the two young troops, but also anger and controversy over the French tourists who were visiting an area subject to a travel warning by the foreign ministry.
Leading French daily Le Figaro in an editorial Monday paid tribute to the armed forces but said that the freeing of the tourists had ‘left a bitter taste’.
“This tragic event should serve as a warning to our tourists. Our forces are in Africa for a hard and long war and not to pay the price of carelessness,” it wrote.
On Saturday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian reprimanded the freed men, aged 51 and 46, who he said had taken ‘significant risks’ by visiting an area that was considered a ‘red’ no-go zone under travel advice issued by his ministry. — AFP