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Find on Actu Chartres, every Sunday, a Eurelian chronicle of History and stories offered by Alain Denizet. Professor, historian, writer of Eure-et-Loir, he brings together for years all of his chronicles on his site.
“The truck drivers are nice”, Gérard Trois affair, Montainville
the 31 mars 1975, Gérard Trois, young driver from Montainville (Eure-et-Loir) about twenty kilometers from Chartres, today The Villages-Vovéens, 26-year-old, married with two grandchildren, was hitting the road forIran with its semi-trailer loaded with vacuum cleaners.
In Tehran, rallied in two weeks, the problems accumulated: stolen papers, mechanical problems and punctures. Then, on the road to Tabriz, there was the accident of June 6.
Tabriz road, Iran: the accident of June 6, 1975.
His spare tire – a retread, his wife asserted[1] – exploded and the 38 ton, destabilized on its left, came to spray the car which was coming in front.
Its two occupants were killed instantly. Wounded in the arm, the truck driver spent three weeks in hospital under police surveillance before being thrown in prison, handcuffed at his feet, in an open dirt cell, without a bed or chair.
Iranian police attributed the accident not to the tire, but to a driving error. The Montainville driver risked six months to six years in prison.
Getting the truck out of prison: how?
A letter from Gérard Trois, which arrived at the end of July, informed his wife Simone – also in a precarious financial situation – that he was in good health.
But hope of exit, there was no question. Because to extract it from the bee-eater, you had to pay 7 millions [anciens francs] deposit.
Neither she nor the Lorient employer, in financial difficulty[2], had a penny and the impression was that the authorities were busy at snail speed. “What are these customs from another age that make international transport a perilous adventure?” »Indignantly The Republican Echo. But what to do ?
RTL, Max Meynier and “Les routiers sympas”
His wife then asked Max Meynier who, every evening, hosted on RTL “The truck drivers are nice”.
In a few days, he unblocked the situation. At the beginning of August, Simone Trois launched on the airwaves a vibrant appeal for donations, relayed by the host who thus gave to “ Case Three A national echo.
“It takes 7 million to get Gérard out of his Iranian jail, you are almost a million listening. It is enough that seven thousand of you send 10 francs to raise the necessary sum ”.
Angry “The Nice Truck Drivers”
For its part, the Chartres section ofRegional Union of Professional Drivers mobilized his troops, ulcerated by diplomatic delays and threatening: “If nothing succeeds, we will attempt a spectacular action.”
Gérard Trois released
Five issues later, the amount of the deposit was exceeded.
On August 10, Simone Trois and Max Meynier flew to Tehran[3]. On the 12th, the deposit was quickly returned to the Iranian authorities thanks to the interpersonal skills of a major Iranian television reporter and on the 14th, Max Meynier finally met the driver in his prison.
Max Meynier’s story
“I saw him through the wicket. But, Simone, his wife, had shown me pictures and I recognized him immediately. I was reassured right away[4] ».
The door opened, he got out of prison. His wife stepped forward. He looked at it. He did nothing, said nothing.
– You don’t know this lady?
– and.
– She’s your wife.
And at that point, he realized. “
The same evening on RTL, “The cool truck drivers” heard the reading of this telegram: ” RTL operation successful. Am at the table with Mr. and Mrs. Three. Let’s celebrate Gérard’s exit which took place half an hour ago. Stop. Max Meynier. ”
The reunion photograph was published by France Evening.
The driver was free, but had to stay in Iran until the judgment… if the trial took place. Because the final twist of this Persian tale, Max Meynier visited the families of the two victims and, following the custom of ” blood price », Poured them the comfortable remainder of the donations.
The complaint was withdrawn and Gérard Trois found France, his family and the French tar at the end of August.
[1] What the employer denies.
[2] According to L’Echo Républicain, another company driver had abandoned a truck, in poor condition, “somewhere in Turkey”.
[3] Travel paid for by RTL.
[4] Story by Max Meynier. A Thousand and One Nights with My Friendly Truckers, autobiography, editions of the Round Table, 1978. The host died on May 23, 2006 at the age of 68.
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