French Greens call for weekend hunting ban after walker killed

THE French Greens are calling for hunting to be banned on weekends after the fatal shooting of a young woman who was hit by a stray bullet while out for a walk.

The tragic incident, in which a 17-year old girl accidentally shot dead the 25-year old woman who was walking with a friend on a marked trail in the heavily forested Cantal region, has thrust the issue of hunting into the French presidential campaign just seven weeks before the first round vote.

The teenager had a licence and had been in a wild boar hunt. Initially treated in hospital for shock, she was then taken into custody for questioning for suspected manslaughter.

With one million game-shooting permit holders, the highest number in Europe, France’s hunters are a powerful electoral force. Together with their supporters and families, they represent an estimated pool of around five million voters, out of around 48 million registered to cast ballots.

But critics say the sport poses a mortal danger to the public.

According to the country’s biodiversity office, there have been 3,325 hunting accidents in France since 2000, resulting in 421 deaths.

High-profile deaths in recent years include a woman who was killed by a stray bullet that came through a hedge while she was gardening. In 2020, a French hunter was jailed for a year for accidentally killing a Briton who was mountain biking in the Alps.

A recent poll found that 70 per cent of French citizens are afraid of taking country walks during the autumn shooting season.

A petition last autumn seeking to outlaw hunting on Sundays and Wednesdays, when many schools do not have class, garnered 120,000 signatures and prompted the Senate to create a panel to assess its safety.

With presidential elections two months off, the latest death reignited calls to ban hunting on weekends and holidays when ramblers take to the countryside and most accidents occur.

“We urgently need more regulation of this activity,” said Yannick Jadot, the Green Party’s candidate for the April presidential vote.

Jean-luc Mélenchon, who is leading in the polls of the Left-wing candidates hoping to oust President Emmanuel Macron, called for a ban on weekends and during school holidays “because that’s when there’s the biggest risk”.

However, nationalist candidate Marine Le Pen, a cat-lover who commands considerable support among rural voters, disagreed.

“No question of banning hunting at weekends or school holidays,” the National Rally leader said.

“They won’t be able to hunt because they work, you know, hunters.

“I consider hunting to be an ancestral tradition and it should be maintained,” Ms Le Pen added.