A Frenchman from the town of Montargis has become a national folk hero after he armed himself with a medieval longsword from his collection and began battling a gang of robbers who broke into his house.
In a video interview with news portal La Bonne Droite, Cédric Gallineau recounts that the incident began when he awoke one night and heard muffled sounds in his garage. After telling his wife to call the police, Gallineau, who is a collector of medieval swords, marched to select the appropriate longsword from his collection.
He then charged into his garage, where he stores a luxury car, and proceeded to swing his sword at the group of burglars. The men appeared to be shocked to learn they had entered the home of a bearded swordsman.
“As they came out, I would tap them,” Cédric said, using sword fighting skills he had picked up over time.
During the video interview, he almost seemed disappointed by his foes’ lack of ability to counter his longsword attacks.
“They were pushing each other, it was chaos,” Cédric said.
He added that during the pitched melee battle, one of the gang, who appeared to be the leader, jumped up on top of the car to get away from the sword, where he screamed, “You son of a bitch, we know where you are, we’ll find you!”
To that remark, the Frenchman responded: “Well yes, asshole, you’re at my place.”
In a panic, the burglars fled the property. The journalist in the clip appears stunned that anyone would defend themselves in France, asking him if he was afraid of meting out justice to those who entered his home illegally. To that, the man simply says, “I’d rather be the one who kills a bastard than end up in a funeral march.”
Afterward, Cédric went to his armory and distributed swords to the rest of his family — his wife, nephew and two young daughters — and they stood guard over the property all night.
The bravery of Cédric has inspired a wave of memes and art in his honor.
Place à la colère blanche ! https://t.co/cvG3tPdE5t pic.twitter.com/bPqjtVTaeX
— Ryan W Hobb (@hobb_ryan71386) November 30, 2023Even commenters on Reddit were singing the man’s praise, with one responding: “When you’re a level 3 thief but the merchant you’re trying to rob is a retired level 20 warrior.”
