I will “avenge my husband” she said during the protest on Wednesday, which saw thousands of people wearing white while in the streets of Bayonne, in the South of France.
“I will fight to the end, I have strength in me, I have almost no more tears. I’m angry and I’m going to go. I am not afraid, justice is with me. The justice will help me to avenge my husband,” said Veronique on the day.
A minute’s silence was held for Monguillot in other areas of France, including Bordeaux, Paris and Strasbourg.
The father of three’s family are distraught after Monguillot was beaten during a routine stop, picking up passengers near Bayonne train station.
“It’s not my father breathing, it’s the ventilator… we know that it’s over,” said Monguillot’s 18-year-old daughter Marie to French news outlet Sud Ouest. “We are empty… we have no more tears.”
The 58-year-old bus driver was due to retire next year.
“No, you don’t do this over a bus ticket. You don’t kill for free like this,” Veronique told Le Parisien. “I feel like I’m living a nightmare.”
Two of the four men in the gang have been charged with attempted murder.
Monguillot went to check one of the men’s tickets outside the bus, and asked the three others to put on face masks to adhere to current regulations. French law stipulates face coverings on public transport.
The bus driver was allegedly pushed out of the bus by members of the gang, before being violently kicked and punched. The men fled, leaving Monguillot unconscious.
Two men at the scene have also been charged with failing to assist a person in danger, which is illegal in France.
Claude Olive, the Mayor of Bayonne said: “This was a barbaric attack. Philippe was a wonderful person who should have been protected.”
Some of Monguillot’s co-workers are refusing to work until after his funeral. Some are also worried for their own safety.
“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,” said one of his co-workers, reported Metro.
