REPORTAGE A month after the murder of Lola, her family and her comrades from the Georges-Brassens college made a point of marching with dignity, far from any political recovery, in the 19th arrondissement of Paris to pay him a last tribute
The crowd gathered in front of the town hall of the 19th arrondissement, to pay a last tribute to Lola, this Wednesday. — Bertrand GUAY/AFP
- A few hundred anonymous people gathered this Wednesday afternoon with relatives and family of Lola, this 12-year-old teenager, brutally killed on October 14 in the 19th arrondissement of Paris.
- The procession, led by friends of the young girl from Georges-Brassens high school, marched to the town hall of the 19th arrondissement where her mother spoke.
- “Do not respond to violence with violence,” she insisted, asking that the privacy of the family be respected and that justice be allowed to take its course.
Like Anna, a student of the city; school Georges-Brassens, came with her big sister, a few hundred people took part to the march this Wednesday afternoon, organized in honor of Lola, this 12-year-old schoolgirl, killed on October 14, in the 19th arrondissement of Paris.
Came with his three children aged 8 to 15. 15 years old, Ahmed explained to them; why this tribute is important. “We did what we had to do: show our solidarity; by being there this afternoon alongside of the family of this neighborhood child, murdered by a madwoman.”
The parents and the two brothers of Lola pay tribute to the teenager, on November 16, 2022, in front of their home in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. – Juliette AVOT/SIPA
Under the insidious rain of November, the faces were serious and closed, the journalists kept in check. distance and no distinctive signs of belonging to a party or movement was not visible, as had been expressly requested; family. Gathered around the parents of Lola and her two brothers Thibaut and Jordan, college students, parents of students and staff of the establishment where went to school as a teenager, the first part of the procession, which slowly rue Manin, followed to; distance by a compact crowd massed under umbrellas and K-Ways.
A procession of schoolchildren and relatives
Even before the start of the walk, a string of fluorescent vests strictly protected the walk. relatives and college students. A woman who lives on Allée Darius Milhaud was looking to to join his daughter: “Ah, your child is attending school. Brassens? You can walk past it to join the college kids.” Because it’s in close row that the teenagers took over the lead in the procession, surrounding a very marked family and relatives, dressed in a white T-shirt with a hood. Lola’s effigy and holding a white rose. In front of 119 rue Manin, the where resides the teenager’s family, songs in her honor rang out, before the crowd resumed their march towards the town hall. Alphonse, 84, with a serious face, insisted on to collect: “I have lived in the neighborhood for more than thirty years, it’s horrible what happened, one can only be touched, collapsed even”.
The schoolchildren, friends of Lola, were gathered in head of the procession to pay a last tribute to their comrade, on November 16, 2022, in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. – Thibault Camus/AP/SIPA
In front of the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, massed on the forecourt, the anonymous people listened; the few words of the girl’s mother, who spoke publicly for the first time. “It’s in these difficult times, of extreme violence, that the best is the worst. The best is you here, it’s solidarity, it’s fraternity; which allows us to still believe in the values that unite us. The worst are the uses of our daughter’s image to for mercantile or political ends.”
“You shouldn’t answer violence by violence”
At the mention of the suspect, Dahbia B., indicted for murder and aggravated rape, and placed in pre-trial detention, the voice became more hesitant, the sobs more painful. “We understand the need to understand how and why this young woman was able to make such a heinous attempt on her. life of a little girl,” Lola’s mother. If we want to know and understand, we must not respond to questions. violence with violence.” Jeanine, who has come to the town hall for a last tribute, cannot help but slip: “I hate her, it’s violent to her. say but that’s how I feel about this woman”.
Our file on the murder of lola
After a few minutes of speech, and while the family had expressly warned that she would not respond to no interview, the mother of the young victim asked that we respect their privacy, that we leave room “for the long time of justice”. The family also announced the creation of a foundation or an association to support all child victims of violence and clarified; that Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, was committed to to financially support their action. Then, as “It’t was Loli, it’t was Lolo, it’t was Lola” , a popular Corsican tune from the 1980s, the crowd dispersed to at nightfall, promising to never forget. “Now we have to learn how to live without Lola” his mom.