A vocation forged in honor and service

Arnaud Beltrame was born on April 18, 1973 in Étampes. From an early age, he expressed a deep desire for commitment and service to his homeland. After studying history, he chose the military path by joining the Combined Arms Military School (EMIA) in 1999, where he graduated major in the "Italian Campaign" class in 2001. His innate sense of duty and his exceptional physical qualities quickly led him to join the elite troops of the national gendarmerie: the EPIGN (Parachute Intervention Squadron of the National Gendarmerie).

An esteemed gendarmerie commander, he was deployed to Iraq in 2005 where his bravery in combat earned him the Cross of Military Valor. Back in France, he commanded the Avranches company with rare humanity before joining the Parisian ministries. In 2017, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel and joined the Aude gendarmerie group in Carcassonne as number two, respected by all his men for his moral rigor and deep empathy.

The heroic sacrifice of Trèbes: the choice of substitution

On March 23, 2018, the life of Arnaud Beltrame changed into French history. During a terrorist attack at the Super U supermarket in Trèbes, an armed attacker holds several hostages. Arriving among the first on the scene as operations commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Beltrame took an extraordinary decision of self-sacrifice: he voluntarily offered to substitute his own person for that of a woman used as a human shield by the terrorist.

By entering this supermarket, Arnaud knows full well that he is placing his life in the hands of a fanatic. His ultimate goal is to save this innocent woman and maintain a direct channel of negotiation. He leaves his phone open on a table to allow response forces to hear what's happening inside. After long hours of tension, the terrorist savagely attacks him. Seriously injured, Arnaud Beltrame was evacuated as an absolute emergency to Carcassonne hospital. He succumbed to his injuries the next morning, March 24, 2018.

A moral heritage engraved in the memory of the Nation

The sacrifice of Arnaud Beltrame arouses national and international emotion of historic magnitude. He embodies to the supreme gift the motto of his elite corps: “For the fatherland, honor and law”. During a solemn national tribute celebrated at Les Invalides, the President of the Republic saluted him for "the French spirit of resistance" and posthumously promoted him to the rank of Colonel. His wife Marielle testifies to the deep Christian faith which animated her husband and which guided his act of absolute devotion, sealed by the reception of the sacrament of the sick (extreme unction) on his hospital bed.

Today, Arnaud Beltrame rests in the Ferrals-les-Corbières cemetery. His name is given to dozens of avenues, schools and barracks throughout France, reminding future generations that the greatness of a man is measured by his ability to give his life to protect that of others.