June 12, 2023

A mother and her young daughter go up the rue du college Jean-Jaurès in Huelgoat (29). The features are drawn and the faces are serious. “Solaine was my daughter’s best friend,” explains the mother. They were in the same class, in sixth grade. It was his big sister who told him the sad news yesterday followingnoon. She had learned it with friends met shortly before. Since then my daughter hasn’t stopped crying when we talk regarding this drama. Solaine was very nice. A truly radiant girl. Everything was going well for her. She was to participate this Tuesday in an end-of-year picnic outing. Hearts are really heavy.”

A little further on, a father is waiting for his boy who is also registered in sixth grade. “We were on the intense emotion of what happened in Annecy. I would never have imagined that such a heinous act would be committed near my home. I’ve always thought that people who settled here were looking for peace and kindness. My son learned regarding the drama yesterday while celebrating his birthday with his rugby buddies. He’s really in shock.” According to this father, everyone knows each other in this small college of 140 students. “Many have followed each other since primary school. The ties are very close.”

To help the children, extremely troubled by the facts, a psychological unit has been set up. “A lot of students have asked to be taken care of, underlines a person from the teaching team”. The principal education adviser and the principal of the establishment – whom we contacted and who did not wish to speak – also spoke in front of the students to explain the situation to them.

English journalists on site

8 km away, in Saint-Herbot where Solaine lived, the village might not be quieter on this Monday followingnoon, following the many back and forth trips, the day before, of the gendarmes investigating this case. Around 2 p.m., new journalists from the English press arrived on the scene. “Since yesterday morning, this shooting has been making headlines here,” underline two special correspondents from the Telegraph and the Times who worked on the case of the Annecy attack a few hours ago. “People back home are very sensitive to cases where the victims are of English origin and live abroad. The whole community feels concerned”.

“We don’t settle this with gunshots”

A few meters away the postman continues his rounds. Solaine, he keeps a very beautiful memory. “She was very smiling. A few days before Christmas, I had to deliver a package to him. She was waiting for me resolutely in front of her house. When I gave her her box, she seemed to be the happiest little girl in the world. The family was really appreciated here”.

On the evening of the tragedy, Adrian, Rachel, Solaine and Céleste, the youngest, took full advantage of this beautiful spring evening before everything turned tragic. “They were laughing and having a good time together,” testifies a very close neighbor. The girls were playing on the trampoline and the tire hanging from a large oak tree located on the edge of the property of Dirk Raats, the alleged killer, indicted on Monday for murder and attempted murder, and his companion, he of Dutch nationality and she of Belgian nationality. “We are talking regarding a boundary conflict. I don’t believe it for a moment. The two plots are well delimited”, continues this retiree, showing the clearly visible limit of the plots. “Even though there would have been a problem, we don’t settle that with firearms. A child’s life is gone. And his father is still between life and death. What a tragedy ! »