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CRIME

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.

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

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.

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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