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Man ‘killed sons then hanged himself after row’

A man and his two children were found dead in a home in the small town of Fouesnant, Brittany, on Sunday.

Published: 11 June 2012 15:11 CEST

The man, 35, had hanged himself in the family home early Sunday morning. It is thought the two children, an 18-month-old girl and a four-year-old boy, also died by hanging.

The man’s father found the bodies at about 8am yesterday.

The children’s mother was found by police towards midday in Quimper, a town 20 km from Fouesnant. She told the authorities she had left home the night before after an argument with her husband.

Eric Tuffery, the district attorney of Quimper, said: “It seems the two children were hanged. We do not know yet if they were sleeping before.”

The three bodies are due for autopsy in Brest today or tomorrow.

Tuffery is treating the case as a double homicide and suicide following a conjugal separation.

A neighbour told local paper Ouest-France: “Things were not running smoothly (between the husband and wife). They had argued several timhes before.

“And she (the mother) wasn’t there last night. He must have just lost it.”

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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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