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CRIME

France rolls out GPS trackers to curb domestic violence

French judges will soon have the option of requiring electronic tracking ankle bracelets for domestic violence offenders, the government said Thursday, as the country grapples with a growing number of women killed by current or former partners.

Published: 24 September 2020 11:01 CEST
France rolls out GPS trackers to curb domestic violence
Photo: AFP

The measure, which has long been sought by rights advocates, was passed by parliament this year and will be gradually be rolled out starting Friday, according to a decree in France's government bulletin.

The move is part of a wider government crackdown on domestic violence promised by President Emmanuel Macron, who has announced increased training for police and the creation of 1,000 new places in emergency shelters.

The GPS monitor alerts women as well as police if known abusers get to within a certain distance of their victims.

 

Advocates of the device point to sharp decreases seen after their introduction in Spain and several US states.

Official statistics show that 146 women were killed in domestic violence cases last year, up from 121 in 2018.

Photo: AFP

Overall, the government estimates that more than 200,000 women are victims of marital violence each year, with many cases never reported.

The coronavirus crisis, which prompted a two-month nationwide lockdown last spring, also led to a surge in domestic violence as many women found themselves stuck with their abusers.

READ ALSO: The measures to help domestic violence victims trapped bu France's lockdown

Initially, courts in just five cities will be able to issue the ankle bracelets, but they will be available nationwide by the end of this year, the justice ministry said, adding that around 1,000 of the monitors are currently in stock.

Judges can order them for men convicted of assault or even as part of protection orders for women who report abuse, even before any criminal conviction.

In this case, the alleged offender must agree to wear the bracelet. If he refuses, the judge can order prosecutors to open a criminal inquiry.

Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti will present the new measure at a courthouse in the Paris suburb of Pontoise on Thursday.

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CRIME

French teen dies from heart failure after knife attack near school

A 14-year-old girl has died of a heart attack in eastern France after her school locked down to protect itself from a knife attacker who lightly wounded two other girls, an official said on Friday.

Published: 20 April 2024 08:58 CEST
French teen dies from heart failure after knife attack near school

The teenager “was rescued by teachers who were very fast to call the fire department. She died at the end of the afternoon,” education official Olivier Faron said.

The girl’s middle school in the village of Souffelweyersheim closed its doors on Thursday afternoon after a man stabbed two other girls aged 7 and 11 outside a nearby primary facility.

“Sadly this pupil underwent an episode of very high stress that led to a heart attack,” Faron said.

A mother outside the middle school on Friday morning said her son in first year of secondary had also been scared during the lockdown the previous day.

“Whereas in the primary school they made it more like a game, perhaps here it was a little too direct,” Deborah Wendling said.

“He thought there was an armed person in the school. They could hear doors slamming, but in fact it was just other classrooms locking down.”

Faron defended the teachers.

READ ALSO: Schoolgirl threatens teacher with knife as tensions rise in French schools

“There is no perfect solution,” he said.

But “we will analyse in depth what happened. If there are lessons to be taken from this, we will take them.”

The two girls hurt in the attack were discharged from hospital on Thursday evening with only light wounds.

Police have arrested the 30-year-old assailant, and a probe has been opened into “attempted murder of minors”, the prosecutor’s office said.

It was not immediately clear what had motivated him, but it did not appear to be “a terrorist act”, it said.

He was “psychiatrically fragile” and appeared to have stopped his medication.

The incident follows a series of attacks on schoolchildren by their peers, in particularly the fatal beating earlier this month of Shemseddine, 15, outside Paris.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Thursday announced measures to crack down on teenage violence in and around schools.

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