FEATURE-Actress death exposes rife wife-beating in France

reuters ^ | 08/13/03 | Catherine Bremer

[Tredge]

Those men hate themselves.

[Tredge]

That is one phony-sounding tenet of psychology that I will stand behind as firmly as I can.

[Eva]

It looks like the French men really are whimps, they claim to be passifists, except when it comes to striking women.

[BlackVeil]

Cantat, looking wan and dejected in a Lithuanian courtroom, has insisted that Tritignant's death was "an unhappy accident" and not a crime. Sympathising, the left-wing daily Liberation said Cantat's life had been "destroyed by a moment of madness".

There are other cases, in France, of "progressive" men who have been brutal to women relatives, and this has been seen as socially acceptable. The French Marxist philosopher, Louis Althusser, who strangled his wife, is but one example. He served a very short sentence (only a year or two) and went back to a privileged life among the Parisian leftist intelligencia.

[DuncanWaring]

Or is this generally just a big crock like the old lie about "Most American women are beaten up after the Super Bowl"?

[lelio]

Ironically, the poetry-loving Cantat [ the killer ] has always been seen as a left-wing pacifist. The 39-year-old singer opposed the war in Iraq and has espoused a series of politically correct causes.

I'm not seeing the irony here, seems like its par for the course.

[martin_fierro]

[Bonaparte]

"When you love someone, you don't beat them to death."

Evidently you do if you're a "left-wing pacifist" who coincidentally supports fascist, genocidal monsters like Saddam Hussein.

[xm177e2]

Her boyfriend Bertrand Cantat, lead singer of the popular French group Noir Desir, is in custody in Lithuania pending an inquiry into manslaughter after an incident in the couple's Vilnius hotel room on July 27 left Trintignant in a fatal coma.

You marry a guy from "Black Desire" and it turns out he's not completely right in the head. Who would have thunk it?

Cantat, looking wan and dejected in a Lithuanian courtroom, has insisted that Tritignant's death was "an unhappy accident" and not a crime. Sympathising, the left-wing daily Liberation said Cantat's life had been "destroyed by a moment of madness".

There are no criminals or evil people, only flawed people who accidentally stumble every now and then. Using words like "evil" to describe people is very judgemental. When you start calling people or even actions "evil," you are naturally suggesting tha there is a counterpart to that, an opposite, something right and "good." In other words, by claiming something is "evil," you are creating a conflict between this "good" thing you've invented and the pre-existing "evil." When people talk about morality, they are only trying to start conflicts and it only leads to people getting hurt.

Okay, that was all sarcasm....

[dfwgator]

Sounds like even more reason why Alec Baldwin would fit in perfectly in France.

[10mm]

Just when you thought the French couldn't get any more despicable - Bump.

[Lancey Howard]

bttt

[tictoc]

The perp.

[tictoc]

The perp.

[jocon307]

"Or is this generally just a big crock like the old lie about "Most American women are beaten up after the Super Bowl"?

Yeah, I was thinking about that too. But I think it is more likely that the stats cited in this article are generally true.

Believe me, the man didn't go from loving this woman to beating her to death in a "moment of madness". Domestic violence escalates over time, and I'm sure he was slapping her around for some time.

Then again, our OJ is freely roaming the golf courses of the world. I know that French law is very easy on murderers who can show they acted in a passion, but since this crime was committed in Vilnius (where is that? Lithuania? Where the heck is that?) I assume M. Cantat will be tried there.

[Wilhelm Tell]

I notice that, according to the article, such incidents are twice as common in liberal Holland as they are in Switzerland -- the Dutch have very "progressive" ideas about virtually everything while in Switzerland almost every household is armed and there is probably a bit less of the "new morality" fad there than in many West European countries. I am rather amazed at the self-styled progressives who cannot seem to imagine that an anything goes morality could lead to violence. I think you can see how civilized or uncivilized a place is by calculating what percentage of the men feel entitled to act like brutes.

[happygrl]

The French Marxist philosopher, Louis Althusser, who strangled his wife, is but one example. He served a very short sentence (only a year or two) and went back to a privileged life among the Parisian leftist intelligencia.

Oh, but he must have had a good reason/sarc.

I've heard this is typical for these "crimes of passion." The judges are so understanding. No one serves much time for murder in the Enlightened Country of France. Or other latin countries where "honor killings" ("she was cheating on me") are excused.

Barbarians.

[jazzlite]

Looks like this "lover of peace" was a fraud. It is my view that all extreme leftists are intolerant of any slight difference in opinion of others and very envious of others who are successfully independent and free. It seems to me that spouse/partner abuse and child abuse is increasing all the time. It begins with psychological abuse and increases from there. Why these men just do not take their leave from situations which displease them this much is a mystery. I am for the death penalty in cases like this. The murder of someone you pretend to love, someone who trusts you, should be a capital crime.

[jazzlite]

We must not forget that we have O.J. in this country. However, a jury of his peers were involved in finding him not guilty. Whether a judge or a jury, letting these high profile people off is a crime in and of itself. Many times when a guy who has murdered his wife, girlfriend, a child actually goes to prison, the other prisoners will take care of him..Even most of them cannot stand this kind of crime. The husband of my cousin followed her and their son to her parents driveway and gunned her down in front of her son and her parents. She had filed for divorce after years of abuse..He was sent to prison and after a couple of years was dead at the hands of the other prisoners.