Pastor Fernand Frantz, a hundred-year-old resistance fighter featured in the pages of “La Dépêche du Midi” a few months ago, was violently attacked at his home last May. During an exclusive interview published this Sunday, this former chaplain spoke of his serious after-effects.
Decorated with the Croix de Guerre, the Legion of Honor and the National Order of Merit, this patriot thought he had lived it all. However, on May 28, the man who will soon celebrate his 101 years was attacked at his home by thugs.
That day, he heard ringing at his front door. Thinking of receiving his life support, the centenarian rather had to deal with a sturdy man dressed as a construction technician proclaiming to him: “your pipes are totally clogged”.
Sensing the wrong thing, the former resistance fighter tried to dismiss his surprise guest, but the latter was quickly joined by two accomplices, disguised as police officers.
The three men, seeing that their scam technique was not working, therefore attacked the old man by molesting him. Despite the beatings, the victim, in a last ditch effort, managed to reach her balcony and ask for help, driving her attackers to flee.
A physical and psychological injury
Stunned by this aggression, the unfortunate man suffered from bruises spreading from the top of his back to his knees. However, not noting any fracture after this rain of blows, Fernand Frantz had chosen not to go to the hospital after this attack.
Unfortunately, during the altercation, he was seriously injured in the eye, a bruising injury that obstructed his central vision and made him progressively blind.
#Toulouse : molested by crooks, a hundred-year-old Resident, Fernand Frantz who was notably the Protestant chaplain of the Alsace-Lorraine Brigade commanded by André Malraux, loses sight of the consequences of his aggression. https://t.co/XgjUQm5qmj
– Kâplan (@KaplanBen_Fr) January 9, 2022
Beyond the visible handicap on the physical level, making his daily life difficult, the veteran was also strongly affected psychologically.
“He had already lost his hearing, now his sight. It cuts him off from the world. For him who followed the news from day to day, it is heartbreaking. He can no longer even watch TV and must content himself with reading the headlines of the newspapers… This also poses a whole series of practical problems for him (…) He realizes that he has lost a lot of autonomy ”, testified his daughter Catherine in the columns of La Dépêche du Midi.
In charge of the investigation, the national police have not yet found their attackers but the investigations are still ongoing on this subject.