Hôtel Loustalot

Success depended on a whole network of smugglers capable of transporting these “escapes” discreetly and safely. Oloron was an important hub for the passage of “escapes from France to Spain.” Several establishments, including the Café Cabane on Place Saint-Pierre, the Corn d'Henric, and the Hôtel Loustalot in the Notre-Dame district, were used by smugglers to take care of the fugitives.

The famous Maurice resistance network, which specialized in smuggling soldiers, had agents in Toulouse (the director of the Foreign Workers' Service), then in Pau and Oloron. The result: hundreds of smooth crossings of the Pyrenees... until the tragedy of July 1943. 

On July 13, the network took charge of four departing members: Lieutenant Bonnal, Second Lieutenant Lamothe, and Pierre Montel's two sons, André, 22, and Georges, 21. Pierre Montel had been deputy mayor of Lyon. After the war, he would become a member of parliament and secretary of state. In Oloron, the meeting with the last smuggler, Acosta, took place at the Café Cabanne, but Acosta had spoken with Del Estal, a colleague from his clandestine activity, and, to avoid being denounced, had been forced to entrust him with a few passages. So, on July 13, Del Estal, a Spaniard who had settled with his family in Oloron, took charge of bringing Lieutenant Bonnal's group plus two people who were already waiting at the Café Cabanne to the border. 

On July 18, Del Estal, contrary to all the usual instructions, went to Toulouse himself to pick up another group. This group included Lieutenant d'Alnoncourt, Sergeant Bucher, Captain Jeanpierre, two other officers, and Montel's third son, Yves, aged 23. In Oloron, they were discreetly taken to the Loustalot Hotel. Like the previous group, they fell victim to the same crooked smuggler, and their journey ended tragically a few kilometers further on.