Two soldiers from the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment in Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) were attacked by an armed group of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Saturday, April 18, 2026. The ambush resulted in the death of Adjutant Florian Montorio and Corporal-Chief Anicet Girardin was injured.
The 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment (RGP) in Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) faced a tough challenge in April 2026. Adjutant Florian Montorio was killed in an ambush during a mission in Operation Daman within the UNIFIL.
The 39-year-old father from the Valence-d’Agen region received a national tribute ceremony at his regiment in Montauban before a private burial at the cemetery of Saint-Clair, where he lived with his family, on Thursday, April 23.
Hospitalized at Percy
His comrades were deeply moved at the national tribute led by Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin and during the funeral procession to the Saint-Jacques Church in Montauban followed by a mass.
Following that emotional day for the military, it was revealed that a second soldier from the 17th RGP was injured in the attack that also claimed the life of Corporal-Chief Anicet Girardin on April 24, 2026.
National tribute for Corporal-Chief Girardin
The injured soldier, unidentified, was repatriated to France to Percy Military Hospital in Clamart, Hauts-de-Seine. Sources indicate his condition is stable, but caution is advised.
Corporal-Chief Anicet Girardin, the second victim of the ambush, will also receive military honors at the 132nd Cynotechnical Infantry Regiment in Suippes (Marne), on Tuesday, April 28. President Emmanuel Macron attributed the deadly attack to fighters from Hezbollah, an armed rebel group active in southern Lebanon.
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