The tone was serious this morning at 7:00 a.m. on La Première when Lucie Hermant took the air for the spoken news. How might it be otherwise when it comes to announcing the terrible drama that took place at dawn in Strépy-Bracquegnies. From the announcement of the titles, we feel the journalist on the wire. She discreetly wipes a tear from the corner of her eye as she announces the news concerning the Gilles and the situation in Mariupol, a Ukrainian city besieged and bombarded relentlessly by the Russians for three weeks.
During the live following the titles, Xavier Lambert, who is on site in Strépy-Bracquegnies, has a quavering voice, punctuated by sighs. He struggles to find the words to describe what happened. At the time of returning to the antenna, the emotion is too strong for Lucie Hermant who bursts into tears and manages as best she can to launch the interview with the mayor of the locality, Jacques Gobert. The realization cuts the image of the studio, we imagine to allow him to wipe his tears and recover. But the tension is so high that the journalist breaks down once more a few moments later when it comes to discussing the situation in Mariupol. We see her trying to regain her senses, moving her head as if to release the tension and take a breather.
The emotion was very strong on the ground as in the RTBF studio this morning. It was also in the head of Fabrice Collignon. The RTL host was part of Gilles’ group who was hit by a car at dawn.” I was happy this morning to share a real moment with friends, he wrote on Twitter. A car decided otherwise. A nightmare, what more can I say! Within 1 meter…”
Indeed, the host had just left the group of Gilles when the tragedy happened. He was right behind the drums when someone called him to talk to him. He owes her his life. “Physically I’m fine. he said in his message, but these are images that will haunt me”. He described an apocalyptic scene punctuated by screams, cries and screams.