five women attacked for free in the city center

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It was a shocking affair. At tribunal from Lille (North), a 38-year-old man was tried in immediate appearance on December 16, 2024, for gender-based violence. Indeed, no other explanation was given for the blows he gave to five women December 10 and 12. Alcoholic, the homeless repeatedly punched or pulled the hair of several women in the street, for no obvious reason. Beyond a certain shock, the victims denounce a “great misunderstanding”. The defendant's lawyer mentions psychiatric problems. Narrative.

He gratuitously attacked women in Lille

It is 11:40 a.m. Tuesday, December 10 when Sandrine* leaves her workplace to get her lunch. She is walking quietly in rue Léon Gambetta, in Lille (North), when an individual “tears her hair from behind” while telling her: “That will teach you! »

But the aggression does not stop there. The man “cocks his right fist” and hits her on the head before “throwing her to the ground”. Completely “controlled”, the attacker gave him “numerous kicks in the side” before leaving “calmly with his hands in his pockets”.

In shock, Sandrine* took refuge at the prefecture police station. According to the homeless man, the woman would have “aimed at him with mouth movements”, which would have provoked his anger. The 38-year-old defendant adds that he “may have gotten carried away”.

Two days later, this same man attacked four other young women in a “state of obvious intoxication”. At 5:35 p.m., Clara* closes the shutters of her apartment on the ground floor when she meets her neighbor Lucie*. She returns from a walk with her dog but warns her directly: “There’s a weird guy who’s been following me since a while ago. »

In fact, a homeless man approaches them and stops. The young women do not have time to wonder what he is doing, that he is giving them a series of punches “in the face and neck”.

Around 6 p.m., it was Louise* who left her house and came “face to face” with a man to whom she said hello, but who “does not inspire confidence in her”. The young woman returned to her car but when she was about to get in, she heard the same man shout violently at her: “Give me the keys!” “.

Louise then starts running, threatening the man to call the police, but he chases her. It was only when a jogger intervened that the attacker fled.

Finally, it was around 6:40 p.m. when the police received a call from a 25-year-old woman. Manon* “took refuge in a bookstore” following an attack. She was walking with a friend when an individual “punched her in the face”, “throwing her to the ground”. The man allegedly fled into the Christmas market.

“I don’t like women, it’s a choice on my part”

In court, the president said he had rarely seen violence “so gratuitous”. During his hearing, the defendant indicated totally misogynistic gestures: “I don’t like women, it’s a choice on my part.”

On the stand, the 38-year-old man stammers out excuses that don't convince: “Apart from apologizing, I don't know what to say. »

For the victims, it doesn't work. “If he [avait] a knife, we [était] dead! » recalls Lucie. Manon, for her part, denounces “really cowardly, totally unjustified and inhumane” behavior.

“Very shocked”, the young women report a “great incomprehension”. If they are present in court, it is because it is “out of the question to give in to fear”, proclaims their lawyer. “Should they have ceased to exist? That they are not women? », asks the latter rhetorically.

Recalling “violent scenes and blows”, she requests compensation of 5,100 euros for the damage caused.

For her part, the defense lawyer pleads psychiatric problems: “No one can understand what he is saying, least of all me! » According to her, everything can be explained by a probable “psychological decompensation”.

According to her, “closed prison is not the solution” for an individual who instead “needs emergency care and support. »

Beyond this affair, an entire society is reflected. The prosecutor recalls that for many women, “the street is an area of ​​insecurity”. “What all women fear has happened to them,” she adds.

The prosecutor describes a man whose personality is “particularly worrying”, recalling that he chooses “relatively similar profiles”: “young women alone or without men and vulnerable”.

This is why she calls on justice to “take its responsibilities” and “take into account the multiplicity of victims and the modus operandi”. She therefore requires four years' imprisonment for the homeless man, two of which will be suspended, and emphasizes that it would be “important to oust him from Lille”.

A sentence “meeting the seriousness of the facts” and confirmed by the court. The defendant is also required to provide psychological and addictological care.

By Zoé Hondt

*First names have been changed.

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