RETRO 3/12. Death of Sylvain Augier, devastating storm in the Gard… the events that marked the region in March 2024

At the end of the year, Midi Libre invites you to rediscover the events that marked the region in 2024. Today, we look back at the month of March.

SYLVAIN AUGIER, THE EMBLEMATIC HOST OF THE TREASURE MAP, DIED NEAR SOMMIÈRES

“I had a life in comics punctuated by exceptional encounters.” Midi Libre – MICHAEL ESDOURRUBAILH

He joined these skies where he enjoyed seeking thrills, whether in a paraglider or in the helicopter from The Treasure Map. Sylvain Augier died suddenly on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at the age of 68, after a fainting spell, at his home in Lecques, near Sommières, in the Gard. The journalist will leave the mark of a deeply human man and a host who marked his time with programs where he got involved as closely as possible with the candidates on the ground while paying tribute to the French regions.

A Jules Verne-style existence that saw him climb aboard racing cars alongside Ari Vatanen or Henri Pescarolo, parachute over Paris with “Bébel” and Michel Drucker or explore volcanoes with Haroun Tazieff. “It's true, I had a comic strip life punctuated by exceptional encounters. A life as a fictional character. One more turn, always faster!” , he confided to us a few months earlier in a voice whose gentleness and enthusiasm had remained intact. Sylvain Augier suffered from bipolar disorder, a family curse inherited from his father. He had retired to the Gard to better calm down and take care of himself.

MARCH 19, 2024: “THE CASE OF GILLES D'EVIONE AND THE VISIONARY SOPHIA M. BREAKS OUT IN AGDE

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The investigation continues and other investigations have been launched in parallel. Midi Libre – PIERRE SALIBA

It was on March 19, 2024 that the “Gilles d'Ettore affair” and the clairvoyant Sophia M. broke out, the impact of which would go far beyond the borders of Hérault. That day, the man who was still mayor of Agde was arrested at his home. After two days in custody, he was indicted for embezzlement, illegal taking of interest and corruption and placed in pretrial detention. Gilles d'Ettore is accused of having granted undue advantages to Sophia M. and her entourage, in particular by recruiting members of her family within the town hall and financing work on her home. Sophia M. presents herself as a medium capable of communicating with supernatural entities.

In June 2024, one month after submitting his resignation from all his elected mandates, Gilles d'Ettore was released under judicial supervision, with a ban on staying in Hérault. The investigation also led to the indictment of thirteen local entrepreneurs for active corruption and misuse of corporate assets, accused of having financed advantages in favor of Sophia M. To date, no trial date has been set. The investigation is continuing and other investigations have been launched in parallel.

STORM MONICA: EIGHT DEAD IN GARD AND HERAULT

The toll was severe: eight people lost their lives, swept away by the waters. Midi Libre

On the weekend of March 9, 2024, storm Monica swept through Occitanie. From Gard to Aude, via Hérault and Lozère, rivers flooded and winds reached 140 km/h. Part of the region was on orange alert. In the evening, a first car was swept away by the waters, then another, and a third. One of them was carrying a family with two children. After several days of searching, the toll was severe: eight people lost their lives, swept away by the waters.

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