While waiting for a national tribute scheduled for Thursday at the 17th RGP, followed by burial in the Saint-Clair cemetery, praise is pouring in to salute the memory of Florian Montorio.
The day after the announcement of the death of Staff Sergeant Montorio, killed in Lebanon on Saturday morning in an ambush, testimonies and tributes follow one another. They all highlight the professional and human qualities of this 40-year-old man. Generosity, loyalty, respect, there is no shortage of adjectives to try to sum up the personality of this soldier of the 17th RGP who died in combat.
Goalkeeper in Goudourville
Very involved in sport, he left an indelible memory for those who encountered him on a football or rugby field. A career that began at FC Goudourville, ancestor of FC Deux Rives, at the departmental level. “I played with him at Goudourville Lalande when he was around twenty years old. He was a goalkeeper and I played in central defense. I had seen him a month before his departure and he was a friend, we always enjoyed talking,” says Thierry Gelis, co-president of FC Deux Rives, still marked by this brutal announcement.
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“I learned about it at the stadium while I was following a match of our U17s and I am still in shock. Today, I think of his family, his wife, his two daughters and his parents of whom he was the only son…”
A multidisciplinary sportsman, Florian Montorio swapped the football to try the oval by signing a license with RC Brulhois, also a family club. Michaël Verdier, who recently took over the presidency, worked alongside him for several seasons.
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“He must have been 28 when he arrived and he stopped in 2023. We were champions of the Pyrenees. He played 3rd row, number 6. I remember that he was the only one to come an hour before the match to warm up. He was super muscular and he arrived with his elastics and rollers. I had never seen that, especially at our small level. I never saw him make a bad move. On the pitch, he took hits, but he returned them by tackling his opponents. It was a wall…”
“I learned about it from TV”
Smile, kindness, sense of sacrifice and teamwork, the rugby player, who had created a rugby association to touch on the Auvillar facilities, put his professional qualities at the service of his club. The announcement of his death on Saturday is all the more cruel. “I learned about it while watching the TV news. When I saw his face on the screen, I couldn’t believe my eyes. We didn’t expect that.”
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French soldier killed in Lebanon: originally from Tarn-et-Garonne, father of a family, passionate about rugby… who was Florian Montorio, died after an attack against peacekeepers
On its Facebook site, RCB posted a message of tribute and condolences for the family and his brothers in arms, but the club president wants to go further. “We will meet during the week to decide, but we are considering asking the mayor of Dunes for authorization to install a plaque in his name inside the stadium. He deserves it.”
In Valence-d’Agen, in Gasques, the parents’ home and in Saint-Clair, time has stood still since Saturday. On Monday, the flags of the two town halls will be at half-mast and the elected officials have planned to go together to offer their condolences to the family.
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