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Tonight we will look at the Caravelle Crash, 11th Septembre 1968 and the
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It took off from Corsica and it never arrived in Nice, it crashed off the Cap d'Antibe killing all 95
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aboard. The authorities declared a non lieu saying a fire caused the accident. But for many years the
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families feel that the state and perhaps the army, without any proof at the moment are in some way implicated
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in this crash.
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At 10.33 the Caravelle took off from Ajaccio minutes later the plane would land in Nice Cote d'Azur airport. Whey and how should a fire have broken
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out what hapened after the pilot sent his message, why the plane exploded in mid flight and not when it hit the water. Three questions
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still without a reply the catastrophy caused 95 victims.
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The last flight of the Caravelle F_ BOHB
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In the airport of Campo delaru a walker who happened to take the last photo of the Caravelle F-HBOB.
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A few minutes later it took off for Nice, but on making the approach to Nice the pilot mentions a fire,
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the plane is in difficulites he mentions the inevitability of a crash.
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they were his last words before the plane disappeared from the radar screens at 10.34
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When the emergency services arrived off the coast of the Cote d'Antibes it was a moment of horror.
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The odor of kersosene was heavy in the air 95 persons lost their life, six of them members of staff.
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Only a few bodies and a few personal effects were found the pieces of the Caravelle, had sunk.
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A few days later in Nice the requiem ceremonies showed the familes pain.
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A dense silent crowd gathered around the Centre of Civil Protection.
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Where the bodies were kept.
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In Corse despite the terrible shock no one new what had caused the crase.
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In Nice whilst it was made known that the right engine had been replaced three days previously
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The hypothosis of a fire was mooted.
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An investigation was opened and during this period of four months other Caravelles crashed for unknown reasons.
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the crash in Algeria in 69, a fire in electrical system.
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In a hanger in Orly, one went on fire due to the heater.
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For Ajaccio-Nice the judge declared a Non-lieu, the official these was a unknown fire.
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Pierre Gimart, was the radio controller who last spoke to the pilot, he confirms this liklihood of this hypothesis.
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He states the pilot had not mentioned an impact or an engine on fire.
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Did he not mention the word engine"no, no, no I have the start of a fire on board"
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He started to descend, I suppose it was the proceedure. We were listening.
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My collegue said "message received" , Did he seem panicked? Not at all!
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Always with an inperturbable calm he said "I don't think I can land, I'm going to crash"
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According to the journalist the airline staff seemed anguished.
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An airline breguer passing even intercepted a conversation, My God the fire is gaining we will never
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get to Nice.
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These phrases and others are not in the official report.
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A few days after the crash the doubts install amongst the population.
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about the origin of the crash.
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A few talked about an attempt as they had curiously found bullets in part of the toilet.
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A rumour started that an error in the trajectory of a missille, attracted by the heat of the engines.
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This rumour became tenacious when it was found that 11 September 68,
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at the moment of the crash, military exercises were taking place.
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In the Mediteranian, surveilled by Radar centre Mont Angel.
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near Monaco, a team of TV journalists were there.
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By chance a sound tecnician recorded a conversation in the room.
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When he went to develop the recording in offices of France3 Antibe.
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A colleague technician states he heard amongts the conversations.
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"It has escaped us, It has escaped us"!
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"We've lost it, we've lost it"!.
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We were discussing what we had heard and were asking ourselves questions.
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When two persons from the Renseignment Generaux (captains) came to ask for the recording and took it away.
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A recoding that was seized and never figured in the final report.
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For Mathieu et Louis Paoli who lost their mother and father in the catastrophy.
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Its the first of many issues in an investigation they say is graving incomplete.
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They believe in the idea of a missile hitting the plane.
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Especially when they found a letter written by a member of the Investigating Commission.
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Jean Dupont, pilot and inspector in Air France had not understood.
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Why the radar films of the Caravelle had been hidden from him.
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Then released some five months later and the report of hypothesis that he was studying..
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amonst others was modified without his agreement.
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This is exactly what he wrote "much more serious the chapter dealing with
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the potential of a collision with a missile was completely changed.
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In his letters that he sent at the time he says its in 1968.
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His says "if anything happens to me at all, sickness or accidents
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you must look to those responsible in the military authorities and the State.
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This member of the Investigating Commission he felt threatened? "Oh yes, he felt threatened!
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Nothing happened to Jean Dupont who died of natural causes.
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But in his letters he insists in verifying the declaration made by the military.
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That they had not fired missiles that day.
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A surprising declaration as on that day, a team of TV journalists to RTF,
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were in Mont Angel to watch aerial interception exercises, with non armed planes.
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According to official declarations launches of Titan Ground to Air missiles
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were planned it suffices to look at the newpapers Le provencal,
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which warns people that there will be missile launches 11 September and 12th.
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Curiously this information is not in the final report.
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Jean Philippe who lived close to base and often climbed and walked in the area, remembers as a teenager.
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"the policemen would not allow near the blockade explaining to us,
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they were doing secret experiements. We knew what that meant,
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as each time they were firing from Isle de Levant the technicians would install
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a large machine on the roof of the building and would follow
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the missile firing using this machine. We went off to play in another area.
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11 Septembre 1968 Ange was in a boat with his father.
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near the Cap d'Antibe he did not see the missile not the crash.
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but the FBOH-B passed over his head.
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It seemed ok, it was a bit bizarre because there was not normally planes there.
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but we saw a hole in the body of the plane it was black, it did not go the whole way through.
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Smoke was coming out of it, but the plane was flying ok, but very low.
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Ange did not hear the explosion but Vitien who was playing golf that morning.
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He confirms seeing the plane and a strange blue light
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that came from behind the plane and hit from behind the plane
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after that came an explosion that cut the Caravelle in two.
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The journalists reported seeing balls of fire falling into the ocean.
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These were never reported in the main investigation.
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As for Etienne he said what he had seen a few times and was never interviewed by the judge, then he kept quiet
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he claims that he feels guitly now
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"to see 95 people die in front of you made me sick".
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"I've had it on my conscience all these years". You are still emotional Etienne.
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"Yes of course". Why did you not say anything?
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"One always said to me "you must not say anything"
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I risked ... I had a family! Did you think you would be killed by someone?
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I was afraid.... afraid!
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Etienne was not the only one not to talk.. at the time the voice of the State
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all powerful could not be called into question. There was a
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Ministry of Information which controlled the media and all information about the affair.
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even controlled the official journal where the report would be published.
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This fear of saying what one feared one knew was widespread.
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Monsieur Laty also felt this fear and its only in 2011 that he explains for the first time,
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to have transcribed a confidential military document when he was in the marines,
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in a post in the Department of the Varres.
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"I had to note, because I was the secretary of the captain M..Blanc of the organisation.
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I had to transcribe of the investigating commission.
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What happened was there was an exercies, a target airplane (drone?) passed
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which was to pass the exercise was to fire on the target plane with
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ground to air which was not armed. It was just to fire it.....
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and then the Caravelle arrived it was the Caravelle was taken as the target...
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Monsieur Laty has given a written an official written testament,
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so that it can be eventually used in the legal process
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Other evidence concerns the black box found in 1971 at 2000 ft depth
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if the black box has not deteriorated after two years at the bottom of the sea
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valuable information can be gleaned for the investigation into
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the causes of this crash.
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But, as it happens the report noted that the black box was not usable
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and they could not find the cause of the fire.
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However, today a man who lives abroad his friend, Jean Pierre, who he knew well, had analysed the tape in the black box
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confessed to him in confidence "he was very reserved he would
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not have told everyone"... what did he say about the black box?
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He said they were found they were analysed and contrary to
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what was reported there was indeed perforation of the exterior of the plane
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did he employ the term missile or not? "No he did not ... one
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could suppose it was a missile.
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No one can tell us now where this black box is... nor indeed
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the eight tonnes of wreakage found after the crash
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the article in France-Soir 1971 shows that bits of the fusilage
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were brought to a hanger of Aerospacial in Toulouse...
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we contacted Airbus in Toulouse but also the BEA
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Office of Accident Investigation in Paris, no-one knows where
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the debris has gone, perhaps destroyed or lost.
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One of the authors of "Secrets of State", confirms that other
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pieces of wreakage were found and brought to the marine base in Toulon.
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"we found incontestable documentary evidence that proves, that proves that some
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pieces of wrekage were taken to Toulon in secret. We have
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a witness that also confirms that these pices were taken there in 1971
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Very curiously, the plane was civilian and owned by Air France
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Air France would not answer our questions and by email
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advised us to contact the Ministry of Defense.
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The same minister has refused for some years systematically to talk to us
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therefore it is impossible for us in this investigation to give
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you the military version, total mute/no comment from the military
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Each year on the 11 september in Nice and Ajaccio pay
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homage to the 95 persons killed, for the family and friends
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the pain is intact.
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Marie Claude Coni lost her father in the crash, the General Coni
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great survivor of concentration camps before becoming
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an emblematic member of the army. In 2011 his daughter
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has forgotten nothing... "nothing after a ceremony like this, I
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must say that one has a lump in ones throat, very close to
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those who are no longer here."there is a lot of emotion still, 43 years
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after, so?" "yes, yes...."
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The drama for the relatives is that there is no real grave
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because nearly all the bodies were never found. So in Ajaccio and Nice
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there is a memorial of metal plunging into the sea
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Vivianne is here to listen to the names of the brother and sister
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she lost.... 22 and 20 years they went off, there is only me
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and my younger sister who have both suffered because of this.
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We were a family decimated by the accident. Now I want to
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know everything, everything. I explode, I want to know...
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Leave the doubt, was there yes or no a missile fired or was it a fire
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The families launched for more information ...
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"now there are many people who are older who wish to lighten
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their concience...,, I ask them, truely, you must do it..
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Its for the good of 95 people but for human nature, simply.
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I invite them to contact be it my uncles or the Association
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for any indications that could throw light on this affair.
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We ask nothing, we ask for the truth so that all this ends.. for peace
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The wish to find the truth is also apparent is also evident
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concerning some politicians, such as those who attended the recent commemorative ceremony.
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"I think that today its not a question of taboo, our country
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has its obligations. We are doing it today for the Rio de Janero
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disaster which happened just a year ago. I think we have an
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obligation to do it even to go back 43 years.
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| have followed the affair and now I am persuaded that it was a missile
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which hit this avion, from Isle de Levant, from Le Plateau d'albion..
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we must not forget Le Plateau.." "What makes you say these things".
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Many things, firstly the "mutism" absolute silence of the army
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The obstinate quest for truth by the victims families continues...
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In Cosica the Assembly is moving, posing a clear question
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If there are remains of the plane in the Cap D'Antibe.
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The only real way of knowing if the thesis is true or not is to
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find the wreakage of the plane and verify the point of impact
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Sir are you willing to ask the State to find and investigate the
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remains of the Caravelle?
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Yes I am in agreement to ask the authorities to find and make
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every effort as has been done for the recent Air France crash from Rio.
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and also to de-classify all the documents relating to the search for truth.
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The government through the Minister for Justice says they have
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no plans to search for the wreakage.
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To protest the Corsican Assembly has mooted a subscription??
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in order to find private funding to find the plane.
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The operation could cost 2 million euro, confirms Michelle
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Tomray a specialist in marine geology. He says that even
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after 40 the rust would not have ruined the wreakage.
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the technique he employs allows him to be very precise as
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when he found another plane weakage in the Med..
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We do a ecography underwater...we can map and we can if
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the resolution is carefully chosen see great detail.
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The government underlines that only a judicial decision can allow research
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For many years the Association has made several attempts, in particular
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a case of involuntary homicide against the Military,
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All cases will run into the problem of time lapse.
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One of the first things one said to me one had posed????
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State Secrets on the judge.. one has never done this.
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I understand that one needs to find the truth.. but one should
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not have left the time pass like this.
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Its often difficult to find truth in this type of case, especially
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after the event. But you realise 40 years ago.. there are articles...
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yes I read them with interest but I do not see a way in law
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to re-open this affair. I promise you I would if I could ...
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Matthieu and Louis Paoli do not still live in serenity,...
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Whilst one had 95 people dead, a case full on concrete facts.
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We should not talk about time lapse ... its disgraceful.
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Truth, what can time do to truth, it is 40 years we have been searching
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We are in mourning for 43 years and searching for truth..we will find it.
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Just yesterday, the solicitors for the Association have put a
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new case, and feel the case can be re-opened. If the sound recording
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taken in the offices in France3 and a secretary typed a confidential
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report. He then must have missed certain vital elements and this
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puts into question the "time lapse".
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If the judge at the time had heard these recordings, perhaps
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the investigation would not have ended in a non-lieu?
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The fact that obstacles were put in front of the search for truth in this affair.
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The judge must look at all this and decide on this new argument
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and make his decision.
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Meanwhile the Paoli brothers return to the empty family tomb
