Gendarme's widow: ‘France’s lax approach killed my husband’

The widow of a gendarmerie officer who was killed in a hit-and-run on August 26 has said that “France killed my husband because of its lax approach, its adequacy, and its excessive tolerance”.

Eric Comyn, aged 54, was killed when a driver refused to stop for a roadside check on the A8 near Mougins (Alpes-Maritimes). 

Mr Comyn, a married father of two and a gendarmerie officer for more than 30 years, was hit head on, CCTV shows. 

Read also: Gendarme killed by driver who refused to stop on motorway near Cannes 

He and his colleagues were wearing fluorescent jackets at the time, but the perpetrator’s car appears to be speeding up, said Gullaume Farde, a police-justice consultant, to BFMTV, after watching the video footage of the incident.

Despite emergency services rapidly attending the scene, Mr Comyn could not be saved.

Harmonie Comyn, his wife, made the sombre statement on August 28, during the homage ceremony in honour of her husband, in the family’s hometown of Mandelieu-la-Napoule (Alpes-Maritimes).

She made the statement after it emerged that the driver, aged 39 - who was later arrested in Cannes and is now in police custody - had been known to police previously for previous road traffic offences, and refusing to obey police orders. He is also a foreign citizen, who is living in France legally.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said: “I understand this cry of distress, of anger, and I am here to listen to it.” He said that he shared Mrs Comyn’s “anger” and “sadness”, and added that he wanted to tackle the issue of drivers who refuse to obey orders, saying: “Police officers and gendarmes are being murdered.”

‘What next’?

Mrs Comyn also criticised what she saw as the likely next steps for the perpetrator. “What next for this murderer?” she asked. “Immediate committal for trial, three hot meals a day, welfare in prison. Then the sentence will be reduced, he'll be released and then he'll do it again.”

Yet, Mr Darmanin said that “the justice system must be much tougher” against people who “use their vehicles…as weapons”, and said that Mrs Comyn had all the “support and strength of the Ministry of the Interior” behind her.

The alleged perpetrator has already been questioned in relation to the incident, and has claimed “he did not see the gendarme on the road”, and “fled in panic” after hitting him. After his arrest he tested positive for alcohol in a breathalyser test. A psychiatric examination found no particular concerns, and said he was in a fit state to stand trial.

The driver was found to have 10 previous driving offences, including refusing to obey police orders.

‘A courageous man’

The mayor of Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Sébastien Leroy, expressed sadness at losing “one of the commune's sons”.

He described Mr Comyn as “a courageous man who served France and its values for 30 years”. He added that Mrs Comyn had the town’s support.

“It is our duty to look after you,” he said.

Right-wing response

And while Mrs Comyn asked that her comments “not be used for political purposes”, and said she was not targeting “foreigners, but repeat offenders”, reactions have come in from right-wing and far-right leaders.

Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right Rassemblement National party, said that there was “nothing to add from her statement”, while Laurent Wauquiez, head of right-wing Les Républicains in the Assemblée Nationale, said that this “cry of pain” should be “a call to action”. 

He said: “‘France can no longer suffer this impotence which is sowing chaos and death…the state must assume its role: to protect and defend the French people.”

Éric Zemmour, president of far-right party Reconquête, wrote on X (Twitter): “This cry from the heart, this injustice, we feel it deeply alongside her. Politicians, through their inadequacy and their ideology, are letting French people die.”

Éric Ciotti, president of Les Républicains, who also attended the ceremony, said Mrs Comyn’s speech was “strong and powerful”. He told BFMTV: “Those in power need to hear and listen so that we can finally get out of the stagnation and impotence that has led to this situation.”