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UPDATE: Two women freed after being held hostage in Paris shop

A police operation overnight on Monday successfully freed the two hostages held by a man armed with a knife in Paris' 12th arrondissement. 

Published: 20 December 2021 17:16 CET
Updated: 21 December 2021 08:55 CET
A French soldier stands on guard near a hardware store where two women were taken hostage on Monday
A French soldier stands on guard near a hardware store where two women were taken hostage on Monday. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)

They were being held in a shop in the Aligre district since late Monday afternoon. The first hostage was released unharmed that evening and the second was released this morning. 

The hostage taker has been arrested. French media reported the man has a history of psychiatric illness. 

La BRI, the Brigade of Search and Intervention the French equivalent of a SWAT team, was among the units mobilised to resolve the current hostage situation safely. 

During the negotiations, the hostage taker had asked to have a discussion with the French Justice Minister, Eric Dupond-Moretti. It is unclear whether such a discussion took place. 

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CRIME

French cinema boss on trial for sexual assault

The head of France's top cinema institution Dominique Boutonnat denied sexually assaulting his godson as he went on trial Friday in a case that has led to calls for him to step down.

Published: 15 June 2024 12:59 CEST
French cinema boss on trial for sexual assault

The trial comes as French cinema reels from a renewed #MeToo reckoning that has seen several big names, including acting legend Gerard Depardieu, accused of sexual abuse.

READ ALSO: French actor Gérard Depardieu to be tried for sexual assault in October

Activists have denounced Boutonnat’s continued leadership of the National Centre of Cinema (CNC), whose role includes overseeing measures to curb sexual violence in the industry.

His godson accuses him of trying to masturbate him during a holiday in Greece in 2020 when he was 19.

“I looked at him to find my godfather and that’s when I saw someone completely different… It was someone using me to masturbate,” the godson, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court.

Boutonnat responded in court that it was his godson who had initiated the situation and kissed him.

“I feel bad about leaving an ambiguous situation, but to say there was a sexual assault is false,” he told the court.

He was placed under investigation in February 2021 but still reappointed by the government as head of the CNC in July 2022.

Training to prevent abuse has in recent months become obligatory for films seeking public funding via the CNC.

The CNC told AFP that the case against Boutonnat came from “the private sphere” and had no relation to its activities.

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