Slain French hero honoured in national tribute

MACRON DELIVERS PUBLIC EULOGY CALLING FOR SOLIDARITY AFTER LAST WEEK’S ASSAULT

The slain hero of last week’s extremist attack in southern France was honoured yesterday in an elaborate, day-long national homage led by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The tribute came as questions were raised about possible failures by French counterterrorism officials in tracking the gunman, who was on a radicalisation watch list before he went on a rampage on Friday.

The coffin of Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame was driven through the morning drizzle in a procession across Paris from the Pantheon to the Hotel des Invalides, the final resting place of Napoleon. Macron delivered a patriotic public eulogy calling for national solidarity after last week’s attack, which together with myriad other extremist attacks on French soil have claimed over 200 lives since 2015.

Beltrame symbolised “the spirit of French resistance,” Macron said.

Swap for hostage

Beltrame died of his wounds Saturday morning, hours after swapping himself for a hostage during a siege in a supermarket near the city of Carcassonne.

“We will prevail, thanks to the resilience of the French... We will win by the cohesion of a united nation,” he added.

After inspecting troops at the monument as a military band played a stirring rendition of the French national anthem, the Marseillaise, Macron posthumously awarded Beltrame the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award.

Two former presidents, Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy, also attended.

The tribute provided a national focal point for grief, even as questions were growing about possible mistakes made by the French security services regarding Beltrame’s killer, Redouane Lakdim.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb confirmed yesterday that French security services were poised to reduce the surveillance on Lakdim, who had since 2014 been on a radicalisation watch list, ahead of the extremist attack.

But Collomb maintained there were no “dysfunctions” in the tracking of Lakdim, who also killed three other people before he was shot dead by police.

AFP ■ French gendarmes escort the coffin of the late Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame during a funeral procession leaving the Pantheon (background) as part of a national tribute in Paris.

AFP ■ French President Emmanuel Macron places his hands on the flag-draped coffin of Lt-Col Arnaud Beltrame after awarding him posthumously with the Legion of Honour.