Paris (France) (AFP) – Professional firefighters gathered on Monday noon in front of barracks across France, at the call of the unions, in solidarity with their colleague who was seriously injured by gunshot the day before during an intervention near Marseille, and whose state of health seems to be improving.
Published on: 02/11/2026 - 19:45
In Lille, around ten firefighters took out all their vehicles at 12:00 p.m. and stood at attention for a minute while the siren sounded, in tribute to their colleague.
Nine representative unions had called "all barracks in France to bring out their vehicles in front of the emergency centers, flashing lights and two-tone lights, to express our anger and solidarity with one voice", according to their press release.
“We do not shoot at those who save,” the leaflet further says, “we expect strong actions and a response from the State commensurate with the seriousness of the situation.”
The health of the 53-year-old professional chief warrant officer, hit "point blank in the chest" by buckshot, had "initially inspired great concern", but his condition is "rather improving", the Director General of Civil Security, Julien Marion, told journalists, visiting Marseille.
“The latest news that we have had, particularly after the night, is rather reassuring, even if we must naturally remain very cautious regarding the evolution of our state of health,” he stressed.
Hospitalized in Marseille, the firefighter will remain under observation for several days "due to the seriousness of his injuries", he added.
The attack which took place late Sunday afternoon caused “stunning” and “anger” among the firefighters.
“There is a shock, a great emotion, we do not understand that we can attack firefighters”, whose mission is to “protect and save”, lamented Mr. Marion, hoping for a “criminal response commensurate with the seriousness” against the perpetrator of the shooting.
On Sunday, emergency services were called to put out a fire in heavy goods vehicles and light vehicles in the commercial area of Plan de Campagne in Pennes-Mirabeau, when they were "attacked by firearms", the prefect of Bouches-du-Rhône, Jacques Witkowski, explained to AFP.
The accused was placed in police custody for "attempted homicide of a person responsible for a public service mission, destruction and damage by dangerous means and possession of category B weapons", according to the Aix-en-Provence prosecutor's office.
Civil Security reported in a press release on Monday a “continuous” increase in attacks: 1,525 declared in 2025, an increase of 4.3% compared to 2024. However, the number of firefighters injured following an attack fell by 7% in 2025.
That year, the majority (87%) of attacks occurred during an emergency rescue mission and were carried out by the people being rescued.
No firearm attacks have been recorded. In the majority of cases, this violence is verbal and for more than a third, it is physical.
© 2026 AFP
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