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France charges skier after death of British girl, 5

A French skier who killed a five-year-old British girl after ramming into her at a resort in the Alps over the weekend has been charged with manslaughter, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Published: 18 January 2022 15:17 CET
French Alps
(Photo by PHILIPPE DESMAZES / AFP)

The badly wounded girl died onboard a helicopter that was rushing her to hospital after the 40-year-old man slammed into her at full speed as she was taking part in a lesson organised by the French Ski School (EFS) in Flaine, northwest of Chamonix, on Saturday morning with four other children.

The girl had been on a skiing holiday with her parents who live in Geneva and own a holiday home in nearby Carroz, the local paper Le Dauphine reported.

The man, a volunteer firefighter, tried to give first aid to the girl immediately after the accident, the paper said. He was taken into custody on Monday.

The ski instructor who led the group of children in perfect weather conditions, and who was questioned as a witness, was not found to be at fault in any way, Le Dauphine said.

Prosecutors in the nearby town of Bonneville said excessive speed was the cause of the accident.

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CRIME

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

French prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man and a youth in the Paris region with planning a "terrorist" attack on Jewish targets, a judicial source told AFP on Friday.

Published: 22 June 2024 12:47 CEST
Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

While no details on the pair have been released, French anti-terrorist investigators have expressed increased concern over the young age of some suspects detained in recent months for planning militant attacks.

The 19-year-old has been charged with “terrorist conspiracy” to commit attacks and the “acquisition and possession of arms for a terrorist enterprise,” said the judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO: Anti-Semitism fears stalk Jewish voters’ choice in France

The youth aged under 18 was detained on June 13, the source said.

The pair made contact on social media and were planning a “a violent action notably aiming at Jewish targets,” said the source without giving details on the plot.

Anti-terrorism investigators say a growing number of youths have been held in recent months for preparing attacks.

READ ALSO: French election breakdown: TV debates, polling latest and anti-Semitism

“This is a necessarily worrying phenomenon,” senior anti-terrorist prosecutor Olivier Christen said at an evidentiary hearing on Wednesday.

French politicians have also condemned a growing number of attacks on the country’s Jewish community, the biggest outside Israel and the United States.

Outrage has been expressed over the rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a park in the Paris suburbs last Saturday. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making anti-Semitic insults.

Several protest rallies have been held in Paris and other French cities over the case which comes as France prepares for a national election in which the far-right National Rally party is tipped to make major gains. 

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