Thunderbolt in the case of bus driver Philippe Monguillot, killed in the exercise of his profession on July 5, 2020 in Bayonne. While the Bayonne prosecutor’s office had, last month, transmitted its requisitions and requested the referral of the four defendants to the Assize Court, the investigating judge decided to requalify the prosecution. The two main suspects, aged 24 and 25, are suspected of being the cause of the death of Philippe Monguillot. They are now being prosecuted for “intentional violence in a meeting having led to death without the intention of giving it” and will be tried before the criminal court where they risk 20 years of imprisonment not life. The Criminal Court is composed of five professional magistrates and not popular jurors.
Requalification for the four people involved in the case
Requalification also for the two other men aged 36 and 42 prosecuted in this case. They had been released but were still indicted for “failure to assist a person in danger”. The 30-year-old escapes any prosecution. The latter is finally prosecuted for having provided accommodation for the two main defendants after the fact. The investigating judge had completed her investigations last March, thus closing the investigation. Nevertheless, the Bayonne public prosecutor’s office can appeal this requalification.
Death in service
The events date back to July 5, 2020. On that day, Philippe Monguillot, a 58-year-old bus driver, worked on line 1 of the Trambus. Around 7 p.m., when he was at the “Balichon” stop, the latter came out of his cabin and wanted to check the ticket for a group of people. He also asks them to wear a mandatory protective mask on board, in the context of the Covid 19 pandemic. An altercation breaks out and Philippe Monguillot is beaten several times, before being left unconscious on the ground. The victim was taken to hospital brain dead. A few days later, a white march brought together more than 6,000 people in the streets of Bayonne. Five days after the events, the victim’s family and the doctors agree to stop the treatment, meaning the death of the driver. Over a thousand people attended his funeral.