A bus driver in France has died in the hospital on Friday after being declared brain-dead following a severe beating by several passengers who refused to wear face masks and attacked him instead.
Philippe Monguillot, 59, a husband and father of three children, was left brain-dead in the southwestern town of Bayonne on July 5 following an attack what officials called "barbaric," prompted by the bus driver asking four passengers to wear a face mask while attempting to check a person's bus ticket.
The bus driver's family made the decision to switch off his life support on Friday, news agency Agence France-Presse reported.
"We decided to let him go. The doctors were in favor and we were as well," the victim's 18-year-old daughter, Marie Monguillot, told AFP.
"The death of Philippe Monguillot, cowardly assaulted Sunday in Bayonne for having accomplished his work, touches us in the heart," Castex said. "The Republic recognizes in him an exemplary citizen and will not forget him."
One man connected to the incident was taken into custody at the scene on July 5 shortly after police arrived, while the four others fled the scene. Police detained the other suspects the following day at an apartment in Bayonne, and some were already known to authorities, according to multiple reports.
'Barbaric Attack'
The mayor of Bayonne, Jean-René Etchegaray, said the attack was "barbaric" and officials will work toward improving the safety of bus transportation. The mayor of Anglet, Claude Olive, said, "Philippe was a wonderful person who should have been protected."The passenger had joined three other men who had previously mounted the bus without any face coverings. The men refused to follow the mask requirement and Monguillot told them to get off the bus if they didn't want to wear masks.
"There were insults and then shoving. The bus driver was pushed out of the bus," the prosecutor said. Two of the suspects then allegedly punched and kicked Monguillot.
Massive March
Monguillot was honored on Wednesday by about 6,000 people who expressed their grief and took to the streets in a "white march," French media reported.
In several major French cities—including Paris, Strasbourg, and Bordeaux—bus drivers stopped all transportation services at 7:30 p.m. and held a minute's silence for their fellow bus driver.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin also expressed his condolences to Monguillot's friends, family, and colleagues.
The attack on Monguillot prompted an angry reaction from his fellow bus drivers, with many refusing to work until after his funeral, AFP reported.
One of his colleagues described him as a "decent and hardworking man who always looked after passengers," the Mail reported.
"There has been a lot of tension over masks, because they are the law, but bus staff are not police, and we should not have to enforce the law," he added.