DFor the past two years, he has had the same dream regularly. Patrice Dupas sees himself at the wheel of his Renault Scénic forcing the gendarmerie roadblock on the Ile de Ré bridge. “I certainly wouldn’t have been able to see my father either, but at least I would have felt like I had tried everything. It eats at me. I carry this guilt of not having been near him. He believes that the person responsible for his damage…
DFor the past two years, he has had the same dream regularly. Patrice Dupas sees himself at the wheel of his Renault Scénic forcing the gendarmerie roadblock on the Ile de Ré bridge. “I certainly wouldn’t have been able to see my father either, but at least I would have felt like I had tried everything. It eats at me. I carry this guilt of not having been near him. “He believes that the responsible for his damage is none other than the State. Patrice Dupas has decided to sue him for misconduct.
On April 4, 2020, this father living in Loir-et-Cher took his car to go to Rivedoux on the Ile de Ré, at the bedside of his father, in the terminal phase of cancer. His condition has deteriorated, the doctor who came to consult him at his home is not confident. Problem: France is immersed in strict confinement, no one is allowed to leave their home without a compelling reason. “I had contacted the gendarmes at home to explain the situation to them. According to them, the compelling reason was not in doubt. I filled out my certificate, the doctor sent me the proof and I took to the road. Bad coincidence of the calendar for Patrice Dupas, this journey coincides with the first weekend of the Easter holidays. The gendarmes control all the entrances and exits of the island of Ré. A major control system has been put in place in Charente-Maritime. At the entrance to the bridge, all drivers are stopped.
Patrice Dupas and his father Claude.
Photo personal collection Patrice Dupas
Avalanche of couriers
My father didn’t deserve to die alone
“You have to imagine my state of mind. I drive on a completely empty highway, to see my father who has only a few days left to live. At the La Rochelle toll, I pass a first check. I have no problem with the certificate. The policeman asks me where I’m going. On the Ile de Ré. He wished me good luck…” At the entrance to the bridge, the second check was much less easy. The authorities refuse the compelling reason, hear nothing of the explanations of Claude Dupas’ doctor on the phone, ask the son to turn around, worse, verbalize him with a fine of 135 euros. It will eventually be cancelled. Patrice Dupas will not see his father again. He dies three days later. On April 16, 2020, the gendarmerie apologized on its Facebook account.
In December, Patrice Dupas writes a first email to the Presidency of the Republic. “I wanted an apology, I asked for a minimum of recognition. My father didn’t deserve to die alone. “He receives answers, condolences from the prefecture of Charente-Maritime, it is proposed to him that the veterans pay tribute to his father, a former soldier. Patrice Dupas, he wants an “honorary distinction”. He is told that the Legion of Honor is not given like that. “They were all kicking in touch. It pissed me off. »
In December 2021, he then contacted a lawyer who will file a liability claim against the State. “It’s not for the money. I want the state to be condemned, to recognize that it made a mistake, to mourn me. We have the right to make mistakes but I believe that I have the right to compensation. The moral damage is attested. The last time I saw my father alive was for Christmas 2019. I saw him again on April 9 in the funeral home. »