“Sensitive matters”. The mystery of the drowned people of La Deûle

It is an enigma which has created a climate of psychosis in Lille: in a few months, five men were found drowned in the Deûle, in almost similar conditions. Were they victims of a drunken evening? Or a “serial pusher” which is raging in the capital of northern France?

In just over a year, between October 6, 2010 and November 23, 2011, five men aged 19 to 42 disappeared in the middle of the night after partying with friends, and were found a few days later, lifeless. , in the waters of the Deûle, the river which crosses the capital of Flanders.

No witnesses or video surveillance images allow us to understand the circumstances of their death. So, serial crimes or tragic series of accidents? This series of dramas will cause psychosis in Lille.

For many, including those close to the victims, the shadow of a predator hangs over these deaths, a man who prowls around the banks of the Deûle to push his prey or force them to jump into the water. The police do not believe it and conclude that it was accidental deaths linked to excessive consumption of alcohol and drugs. The investigations were all closed without further action in 2014.

But a year later, a new twist: a small ultra-right group is suspected of being involved in one of the drownings. The criminal hypothesis is relaunched, the five cases are reopened.

Today, thirteen years after the events, the investigation is still underway to try to finally unravel the dark secrets of the Deûle.

A documentary directed by Marine Haag, Pierre Duyckaerts, Patrice Caillonneau, Arnaud Morel, Anne Rochefort for France TV Presse.

“Sensitive matters(New window)“, a France Télévisions, France Inter and INA co-production, adapted from a France Inter program, to be seen on France 2 on Sundays at 3:10 p.m.

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