A white march brought together dozens of people in Sainte-Flaive-Les-Loups in Vendée this Saturday morning, September 13th. On July 15th, on a road construction site, 18-year-old Matis was buried under 200-degree bitumen before passing away a few hours later.
T-shirts with Matis’ face and a single message: «There are no words.» This is what is written on the back of all the participants gathered for a white march in memory of the young man.
Under a gloomy sky, in silence, in painful contemplation, it’s a whole village coming together. A crowd gathered around the friends and family of the young man.
Leading the procession, the mother of the young worker.
No one deserves to leave in such horrible conditions as he did
Murielle DugastMother of Matis
If she is there despite the heartache, it is «to make a click to the people,» to remind that «unfortunately, it doesn’t just happen to others.»
«We will never thank enough all these people who are here to support us, all the messages we receive. It helps us to try to move forward,» she adds, her voice choked with sobs.
Clarice, Matis’ sister, is also there. She remembers her brother as a radiant being.
«He was the class clown. He loved to make people laugh. A humble person, never a harsh word. Always cheerful, always joyful. That’s what we remember about Mathis and that’s what we will remember for the rest of our lives,» she smiles.
«And then, he was hardworking, he was a workaholic, he did everything by the book. He paid attention to everything, to everyone,» Clarisse adds, with emotion and pride.
On the t-shirts of the participants, Matis’ face and the inscription: ‘There are no words’.
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© FTV
On July 15th in Saint-Flaive-des-Loups, the sun beats down hard on this part of the housing estate. On the road construction site, it is 9:30 AM when the accident occurs. The young worker is buried under a dump truck that spills over 200°C bitumen, used to pave the road.
Despite the intervention of emergency services and his urgent evacuation by helicopter to the Nantes University Hospital, Matis succumbs to his injuries.
To honor her son’s memory, his mother decided to create an association to fight against fatal accidents at work. Murielle Dugast explained this summer that she «had promised him to fight for him. «It’s our guiding principle now: a great fight begins,» she continued. «We know there is no zero risk. But we really need to establish some basics and make certain things mandatory for the protection of workers. There are things that exist, like equipment for example, especially in public works, that need to be made mandatory,» exclaimed Matis’ mother.
This Vendéenne, who plans to name the association after her son, wants to fight against deaths at work, help grieving families, and gain more recognition for difficult and dangerous professions, such as that of a worker. A project that is currently on hold.
According to the 2023 Annual Report of the Health Insurance, published in 2024, 555,803 workplace accidents were recorded in 2023, compared to 564,189 in 2022, a decrease of 1.5%. Despite this decrease, the number of deaths related to these accidents increased, reaching 759 in 2023, 21 more than in 2022.
«In 2025, in France, 183 people died at their workplace. The prosecutor’s office in La Roche-sur-Yon has opened an investigation.»
Find us on social media or on france.tv.» A marche blanche gathered dozens of people in Sainte-Flaive-Les-Loups in Vendée on Saturday morning, September 13th. On July 15th, on a road construction site, 18-year-old Matis was buried under 200-degree bitumen, before passing away a few hours later.
«It’s what we remember about Mathis, and it’s what we will remember all our lives,» she smiles.
«And then, he was hardworking, he was a workaholic, he did everything by the book. He paid attention to everything, to everyone,» adds Clarisse, with emotion and pride.
On July 15th in Saint-Flaive-des-Loups, the sun beats down hard on this part of the housing estate. On the road construction site, it is 9:30 am when the accident occurs. The young worker is buried under a bin that is pouring out bitumen at over 200°C, used to pave the road.
Despite the intervention of emergency services and his urgent evacuation by helicopter to the Nantes University Hospital, Matis succumbs to his injuries.
To honor her son’s memory, his mother decided to create an association to fight against fatal accidents at work. Murielle Dugast explained this summer that she «had promised him to fight for him. Now, it’s our guiding principle: a great fight begins.»
«We know there is no zero risk,» she continued. «But we really need to go back to basics and make certain things mandatory for the protection of workers. There are things that exist, like equipment for example, in public works, it needs to be made mandatory,» protested Matis’ mother.
This Vendéenne, who plans to name the association after her son, wants to fight against deaths at work, help grieving families, and raise awareness of difficult and dangerous professions, such as that of a worker. A project that is currently on hold.
According to the 2023 annual report of the Health Insurance, published in 2024, 555,803 workplace accidents were reported in 2023, compared to 564,189 in 2022, a decrease of 1.5%. Despite this decrease, the number of deaths related to these accidents increased, reaching 759 in 2023, 21 more than in 2022.
In 2025, in France, 183 people died at their workplace. The public prosecutor’s office in La Roche-sur-Yon has opened an investigation.
Find us on social media or on france.tv. Notre politique de confidentialité
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Maria Izquierdo
Soy María Izquierdo, profesional junior en comunicación digital. Creo y gestiono contenido para redes y medios online, combinando copywriting, narrativa visual y edición básica. Con formación en comunicación audiovisual y un máster en contenidos digitales, me motiva el storytelling y conectar con audiencias jóvenes a través de contenido creativo.
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