By Marie Meaney, March 29, 2018
Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame (44) has become famous overnight. His family could well have done without his fame, since it came at such a cost—the sacrifice of his own life. He offered himself as a hostage in exchange for a wife and mother who was held captive by the terrorist Radouane Lakdim. Lakdim had taken over a supermarket in Trèbes, close to Carcassonne in southern France, threatening to blow up the store along with many hostages. Beltrame, a member of the French military police called the “Gendarmerie,” began negotiations with the attacker, drawing his attention away from the other Gendarmes who evacuated people from the building. He then took the unusual step of offering himself in exchange for the remaining hostage.
