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View Full Version : France flexes military muscles...



SkinBasket
06-30-2008, 04:22 PM
By shooting civilians, including children.
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Monday, June 30, 2008
Associated Press

PARIS — A military shooting demonstration in southeast France on Sunday left 16 people wounded, including children, when real bullets were used instead of blank ones, officials said.

Four of the wounded were in serious condition, including a 3-year-old child, Bernard Lemaire, chief of the regional administration in Aude, said on France-3 television. Fifteen of the injured were civilians.

A Defense Ministry official said the incident occurred during a demonstration of hostage-freeing techniques at the Laperrine military barracks. The official said investigators will look into why real bullets were used.

No information was immediately available about what kind of weapon was used.

The soldier who fired the shots has been detained, Lemaire said. He said the injuries were likely an accident but that it could have been a "criminal act."

In a statement, President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his "horror" at Sunday's incident at the base, which houses the 3rd marine infantry parachute regiment.

The injured were taken to nearby hospitals, with the most seriously wounded taken to Toulouse.

Tarlam!
06-30-2008, 04:29 PM
And what business did a 3 year old have at a demo, Skin?

SkinBasket
06-30-2008, 04:43 PM
And what business did a 3 year old have at a demo, Skin?

Don't ask me, I'm not French. Seems like a good question for the French military folks who were running the confidence inspiring demonstration though.

I'm assuming he was a "hostage."