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Vigilante granny fires rifle at noisy teenagers

A pensioner in central France used more than a brush to take on a group of teenagers, who were making a racket outside her apartment, it was reported on Wednesday. To the shock of the youngsters the 81-year-old woman opened fire on them with a rifle.

Published: 3 April 2013 11:51 CEST
Vigilante granny fires rifle at noisy teenagers
FIle photo: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Police in the town of Blois, in the department of Loir-et-Cher responded to gunfire at an apartment building around 10pm last Friday night.

Upon arrival, the security forces found three teenage boys in shock, including one 15-year-old who had suffered a facial injury. The youngster was taken to hospital.

Police would have been forgiven for thinking the shooting might have been related to a feud between warring gangs but instead the teenagers pointed the finger at their 81-year-old neighbour.

Officers then questioned the elderly lady at her apartment, where two rifles – one loaded – were discovered.

The octogenarian had apparently reached her limit, and decided to take her quest for peace and quiet into her own hands.

She admitted to police that she had fire shots from a rifle, but denied having aimed at the boys, according to French daily Le Parisien.

She was taken into custody on Friday night and released the next day. Police are awaiting the results of forensic testing on evidence taken from the scene.

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CRIME

French parliament to investigate sexual abuse in cinema

The French parliament on Thursday agreed to create a commission of inquiry to investigate sexual and gender-based violence in cinema and other cultural sectors after several recent allegations.

Published: 2 May 2024 12:25 CEST
French parliament to investigate sexual abuse in cinema

The Assemblée nationale unanimously agreed to set up the commission demanded by actor Judith Godreche in a speech to the upper house, the Senate, in February.

The 52-year-old actor and director has become a key figure in France’s MeToo movement since accusing directors Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. Both have denied the allegations.

All 52 lawmakers present for the vote on Thursday approved the creation of the commission, watched by Godreche, who was present in the public gallery in the chamber.

“It’s time to stop laying out the red carpet for abusers,” said Greens lawmaker Francesca Pasquini.

The new commission is to look into “the condition of minors in the various sectors of cinema, television, theatre, fashion and advertising”, as well as that of adults working in them, it said.

On the basis of Godreche’s proposal, a parliamentary commission on culture decided to extend the scope of the inquiry to also include other cultural sectors.

It is to “identify the mechanisms and failings that allow these potential abuses and violences”, “establish responsibilities” and make recommendations.

The parliament vote comes a day after actor Isild Le Besco, 41, said in an autobiography she was also raped by Jacquot during a relationship that started when she was 16, but was not ready to press charges.

Godreche, by contrast, has filed a legal complaint against the prominent arthouse director, over alleged abuse that occurred during a relationship that began when she was 14 and he was 25 years her senior.

She has also formally accused Doillon of abusing her as a 15-year-old actress in a film he directed.

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