Tributes to ‘hero’ officer

A FRENCH police officer who died after offering himself to an Islamic gunman in exchange for a hostage had trained for such a scenario.

Col Arnaud Beltrame, 44, was among the first officers to respond to the attack on a supermarket in the south of France on Friday.

Mr Beltrame, who first took his place among the elite police special forces in 2003 and served in Iraq in 2005, had organised a training session in the Aude region in December for a hostage situation.

At the time he armed his officers with paintball guns, according to Depeche du Midi, the local newspaper.

But when he went inside the supermarket he had given up his own weapon and volunteered himself in exchange for a female hostage.

Unknown to the Moroccoborn captor, he left his mobile phone on so police could hear what was happening.

They stormed the building when they heard gunshots, officials said. Mr Beltrame was fatally wounded, bringing the death total to four.

The gunman was also killed, and 15 people were injured.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement: “He fell as a hero.”

According to the statement, Mr Beltrame served as a member of the presidential guard and in 2012 earned one of France’s highest honours, the Order of Merit. He was married with no children.