The festive season, as well as bringing joy and good cheer, is well known to be a time of heightened stress and tension in homes across the world.

Such was the case in one French household on Sunday, as an elderly man allegedly shot and killed his friend and neighbour, reportedly after an argument over Christmas decorations, according to local newspaper Nice Matin.

Daniel P., a 69-year-old resident of Aspremont, a small village in the Alpes-Maritimes department, near the city of Nice, invited his friend and neighbour Jean-Louis S. to his home on Sunday evening.

Though the exact details of Sunday evening’s events hadn’t yet been confirmed, local police indicated that after a day of heavy drinking, the two pals became embroiled in a dispute over that most trivial of Christmas traditions – putting up decorations.

After the argument quickly spiralled out of control, Daniel P. allegedly left to retrieve a 7.65 calibre pistol, returned to the scene, and shot his friend once, at around 6.30 pm.

Emergency services were rapidly called to the house, but Jean-Louis S. died from his gunshot some 30 minutes later, his death being confirmed on the scene by a medical examiner.

Local police, meanwhile, transported the suspect to Saint-Roch hospital in Nice, where his alcohol levels were tested and, according to Nice Matin, his condition was such that investigators were unable even to formally take him in for questioning on Sunday night.