DRAMA. A 22-year-old volunteer deputy gendarme, who was posted to the motorised motorway patrol in Clermont-l’Hérault, committed a terrible act on Tuesday: he took his own life with his service weapon in the town of Poussan, near Sète.
His partner raised the alarm, concerned that the gendarme had driven off in his car, clearly in a distressed state, taking his service firearm with him. Once alerted, the Hérault gendarmerie unit immediately launched a search. This continued until a witness discovered the abandoned vehicle, with the victim’s body inside. The weapon was found nearby.
There is no doubt that it was a suicide, but, to remove any uncertainty, the public prosecutor in Montpellier has ordered a post-mortem examination. This violent death has caused great distress amongst the families of the gendarmerie personnel in the region.