France expresses condolences to the families of the slain MPs

Early yesterday morning, a bloodbath took place in the municipality of the Parisian suburb of Nanterre. A 32-year-old local resident shot municipal employees and deputies, killing eight and wounding more than thirty people. The killer was captured and handed over to the police, and President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin arrived at the crime scene.

Deputies of the municipality of Nanterre were already finishing a meeting that lasted until one in the morning and began to get dressed when one of the men present in the meeting room stood up and opened fire on the crowd with a submachine gun. When he ran out of ammunition, the criminal took out another pistol and calmly continued shooting. As a result, eight people were killed and more than thirty were injured.
According to eyewitnesses, the attacker remained remarkably calm during the shooting. While people were rushing about and shouting to each other: “Get down!”, “Go away!”, “Call the police!”, he continued to methodically shoot the participants in the meeting. Municipal employees still managed to subdue the killer while he tried to reload the pistol. He was soon handed over to the police.
The attacker turned out to be 32-year-old local resident Richard Durne. As it turned out, Mr. Durn was engaged in sports shooting and owned weapons legally. According to witness testimony, the killer was known to many municipal employees, since he actively participated in the political life of the suburb and was associated with representatives of the “greens”, and, according to some sources, was even a member of their ranks. A local college student remembered that Richard Durne worked for them two years ago as a supervisor. According to the boy, he was a nasty guard.
What provoked the local resident to the bloody massacre remains a mystery. According to the mayor of Nanterre, Jacqueline Fraysse, who only miraculously survived, nothing foreshadowed such a terrible end to the evening. “I don’t see an explanation. He didn’t say anything, he started shooting at everyone,” Ms. Fries said. Meanwhile, according to one of the eyewitnesses, the killer first opened fire on the Green deputies, and only then on everyone else.
In France, the tragedy caused a huge resonance. A few hours later, the country's Prime Minister Lionel Jospin and President Jacques Chirac arrived at the crime scene. The election campaign in France is in full swing (the first round will take place on April 21), and the two main candidates - the president and the prime minister - are paying increased attention to security issues in their election promises.
Prime Minister Jospin arrived first at four o'clock in the morning, accompanied by the head of the French Ministry of Internal Affairs, Daniel Vaillant. Calling the incident a terrible tragedy, the prime minister noted the bravery of municipal employees who did everything to stop the killer. He also expressed condolences to the families of the victims. “I’m shocked,” admitted Mr. Jospin.
Three hours later, President Chirac arrived in Nanterre. He met with the families of the victims of the massacre, expressed his condolences to them and called the incident an unimaginable drama. “I don’t have enough words to describe what happened,” the president admitted, “but my heart is filled with indignation.” Moreover, the President strongly stated that such inhumane acts must be prevented at all costs.
The tragedy in Nanterre recalled an episode six months ago, when in neighboring Switzerland, in the canton of Zug, an unbalanced man shot at members of the local parliament, killing 14 people. Then observers were also struck by the unmotivated cruelty with which the killers acted. The Swiss similarly protested against the canton's tax policy. What yesterday's killer wanted remains to be determined by the investigation.
ANTON B-CHERNYKH

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 53 dated March 28, 2002, p. 10

Shooting in the workplace